


A Glass of Amontillado

by Isabeau_Gower



Category: Weiß Kreuz, Weiß Side B (Manga)
Genre: Anal Sex, Blind Date, Headaches & Migraines, Hotel Sex, M/M, conspicuous consumption
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-26
Updated: 2013-01-26
Packaged: 2017-11-27 00:38:48
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 27,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/656083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isabeau_Gower/pseuds/Isabeau_Gower
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The sequel to 'Imp of the Perverted', this story picks up exactly where the other leaves off and reveals what happens once Schuldig sends Chloe spinning off in Brad's general direction.  Will Chloe follow through on the information he's been given and what will Brad's reaction be to his sudden appearance if he does?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Glass of Amontillado

**Author's Note:**

> Weiss Kreuz and Weiss Side B are the property of Takehito Koyasu. No infringement of copyright is intended and no profit is derived from this work of fanfiction.

Chloe stopped his headlong rush through the hallways of BDSM by an act of sheer will. He’d run almost to the front reception room in his blind panic and compulsion and he leaned against the dark wood-paneled walls and took a deep breath of air into his lungs to calm himself. A small washroom stood at the end of the corridor and eventually Chloe made his way to it. 

After locking himself inside, he ran cold water over and into his hands and splashed it over his face. As he stared at his own reflection in the mirror, dripping water and displaying confusion and arousal in equal parts, Chloe’s hands gripped the edge of the porcelain sink tightly. Over and over, the face and address and time that had burst into his brain replayed incessantly in his mind. 

“What the hell is happening to me?!” Chloe whispered in confused frustration as he lowered his eyes and watched the tiny droplets that fell from his face as they disappeared down the drain. He couldn’t be having premonitions all of a sudden, could he? Chloe shook his head. No, that was Free’s bailiwick and he was the one who’d suggested that Chloe should stop by the club today. He couldn’t deny the image or information in his mind though, or why he felt so compelled to act on it.

Chloe reached for a towel from the basket and dried his face and hands. After dropping it into the small hamper in the corner of the room, Chloe’s eyes caught sight of the small crystal candy dish on the shelf above that was discreetly loaded with both condoms and small packets of lubricant. “Why not,” he asked aloud as he reached for three of each and popped them into his pocket. “Worst case scenario, I spend some time shopping for clothes. It’s not as though anyone will know that I’m losing my mind and searching for a handsome figment of my imagination.”

Smiling wryly at his reflection, Chloe ran a hand through his hair to push the errant strands back into place before exiting the restroom and heading out onto the street. With a quick wave of his hand, he flagged down a cab and gave the driver the Jermyn Street address that seemed permanently burned into his memory. 

A few short minutes later, the cab deposited Chloe at his destination in front of a well-respected gentlemen’s shop. The storefront was one of those exclusive little places that look like nothing at all from the outside, but have actually been around for a few hundred years and cater only to a select clientele, and even then strictly by appointment only.

‘So much for my idea of disguising my surveillance with a little unobtrusive shopping,’ Chloe thought to himself. ‘This is ridiculous.’

When Chloe turned back to face the street, however, he found that his cab had already departed and was halfway down the block. The only other taxi that he could see approaching already had a passenger within. Just as he resigned himself to the idea of walking to the nearest tube station and giving up the venture as a lost cause, though, the approaching cab stopped directly in front of him. 

Chloe grabbed the door as it opened to discharge its passenger, thinking to take it when the current occupant vacated the car, only to recognize the man who stepped out as the face from his ‘vision.’

 

Brad Crawford exited the cab and moved onto the sidewalk. A man stood nearby, partially obscured by the door, and Crawford assumed that the individual was waiting to take the taxi for himself. It was at the moment when the door closed, far too quickly for the stranger to have been a new passenger, that the first sensation began. 

It was odd to remember that there was ever a time when the warning sign of an impending vision, that feeling as though ants were crawling behind his eyes, was once foreign to him, but frequency and Rozenkreuz training had forced him to adapt quickly to his new life. Now Crawford’s time was his own and yet, even though he knew it was a mistake, his insatiable curiosity prompted him to turn to face the man standing next to him and the solid world around him disappeared from his view.

 

Chloe watched as the handsome stranger exited the cab and pushed the door shut behind him, allowing it to pull away. At first the man’s bespectacled eyes were fixed straight ahead on the building before them, but distractedly, as though he didn’t really see it. Chloe only had a profile to look at, but it was definitely the man he’d imagined this afternoon and here he was at the same address. ‘Maybe Free’s powers are rubbing off,’ he thought.

Slowly, the man turned to face him and Chloe smiled, eager to make a good first impression, eager too to use the lube in his pocket now that he’d seen first hand just how gorgeous the man actually was.

A flicker of recognition seemed to pass through the stranger’s brown eyes and then his face went stark white. Chloe reached out, afraid the man had suddenly been struck faint. Perhaps he’d stood up too quickly when he’d exited the taxi. Just as Chloe started to ask, “Are you alright?” the man slumped forward into his arms. Moving quickly, Chloe caught Crawford and, putting an arm around him, got him the short distance across the pavement to the tailor’s front door and rang the bell.

A pleasant looking young man opened the door just as Crawford started to rouse. “Mr. Crawford,” he addressed his customer with an edge of panic in his voice. “Are you alright? You look terribly pale.” Turning to speak to Chloe, he continued. “Can you bring him in? There are chairs in the salon,” he suggested and led the way, pointing in the direction he wanted Chloe to go.

By the time all three men made their way to the room, Crawford was pushing away from Chloe and insisting, “I’m fine,” but he flumped down heavily into the large wing chair just the same.

“I’ll get you some water,” the young man in the blue suit assured his customer. “Just wait here.”

Left alone with the object of his fantasy and now in possession of a name to go with the face, Chloe beamed a smile and extended a hand. “How do you do, Mr. Crawford is it? My name is--”

“Your name is Chloe,” Brad interrupted before he could think of the consequences. There were a dozen strings of potential futures flying through his head, and trying to sort them out while he sat at this tailor’s and was flirted with by a near stranger who happened to be an assassin was not helping him to get his thoughts together.

Chloe took a step back and squinted, suddenly on guard. “Exactly how do you know my name?” he asked, trying to keep his voice curious rather than suspicious. “I think if we’d met before, I would have remembered you.”

Brad sighed and rubbed at his temples, knocking his glasses askew. “We haven’t met before, though you have met some friends of mine.” After readjusting his frames, he raised his head to look Chloe over. No need to mention the complete dossier on his desk when another portion of the truth - a less threatening one - would do just as well. “They described you quite well.” ‘Well,’ Brad thought, ‘Aya described; Schu and Youji ranted, but it amounts to the same thing.’

Chloe looked unconvinced and opened his mouth to ask for clarification, but Crawford was spared by the timely arrival of the receptionist with the promised glass of water.

As Crawford sipped at the water, the young man shifted nervously from foot to foot. “Should I reschedule your appointment, sir?”

“No, no, I’m fine, Niles. Let’s get on with it,” Brad insisted. Turning to face Chloe, he started to say, “Look, why don’t you--”

“Oh, your friend can wait here if he’s comfortable, Mr. Crawford. It’s no trouble at all,” the young man eagerly jumped in to offer, so happy and relieved not to have to reschedule valuable business hours.

Crawford sighed. It was not good news for him since he had been hoping that Chloe would just disappear as quickly as he’d come, but with the way the tall man was now smiling at him, it was obvious that he intended to take the young attendant up on his offer and wait.

“Oh, I’ll be quite comfortable,” Chloe said with a smirk as he dropped into Crawford’s recently vacated chair. “Take care of your business and I’ll just wait here until you’re done.”

Crawford looked back and forth between Chloe and Niles and realized that he was neatly boxed into the scenario for the moment. “Very well,” he said with only a hint of the exasperation that he felt creeping into his voice. “Lead the way, Niles.”

As Chloe watched Brad’s ass disappear down the corridor, he spared a moment to wonder just what he’d gotten himself into.

 

Crawford slipped into his new suit, moved as directed and answered questions as necessary, but all the while his real thoughts were on trying to sort out the vision he’d been assailed with when Chloe had shown up so unexpectedly outside his tailor’s.

Up to this point, he had done his best to resist any unnecessary interaction between Grau and Krypton Brand, unsure how mixing his own little ‘family’ with the other assassins might affect their future. Having Aya, Youji and Schuldig cross paths with Chloe twice had already confused things enough, but what had been revealed when Chloe intercepted him had been anything but bad. If he disclosed too much about himself; who he was - what he was - it would get very, very complicated. However, nothing in his vision had suggested any foreseeable danger to Grau and just recalling the glimpse he’d had of himself pounding into Chloe’s body atop a king-sized hotel room bed was bringing blood to both his face and his groin.

Crawford dug his nails into his palm, painfully, and focused on the household budget quickly before the tailor noticed how badly his trousers suddenly fit. What he needed, Crawford decided, was time, time to think over his choices and make the best decision. It was time that he didn’t have. Brad was, more or less, used to the way his visions sometimes popped up, but usually the heavy things were far in the future or else so cut and dried that a decision was easy. 

Bedding Chloe, apparently, was actually going to come down to a personal choice. There was no ‘best-case scenario’ for Grau, or the world in general, for him to consider or hide behind. There was no ‘responsible’ decision. There was no good or bad. There was only him and another man and whatever they chose to do between them.

Crawford turned to the tailor and nodded his approval. The new suit fit perfectly.

 

Chloe shook himself out of the reverie he’d fallen into after Brad’s ass disappeared from view and took the opportunity his sudden privacy afforded him to reach for his cell phone. Free answered on the third ring. “Three rings, Free? You’re slipping,” Chloe teased.

“I was detained assisting Michel to retrieve a cat from a tree in the garden,” Free answered dryly.

Chloe rolled his eyes. ‘Of course he was,’ Chloe thought. Free was as dependable and constant as his uncanny ability. “I need to ask you something,” Chloe started hesitantly. “Why did you send me to BDSM today?”

“I did not send you anywhere, my friend. You were moping around all morning complaining that you were bored. I merely suggested that you would find an opportunity for something exciting if you availed yourself of your favorite haunt today. Was I wrong?”

Chloe could almost hear the smirk in Free’s voice at the question and chuckled in spite of himself. “Oh no, bizarre Chinese curses are all in full effect today. I am living in interesting times.”

“Too interesting?” Free teased. “Is there such a thing where you are concerned? First you complain because you are bored, now you seem discontent because you are not bored. You are a difficult man to please, Chloe.”

Chloe laughed aloud. “Peace, Free. I never said I was unhappy; I’m just…confused. I had some sort of,” he paused and whispered the last word into the phone, “vision.” Chloe looked around himself, suddenly cautious of being overheard and then continued in his regular voice, “and I feel like I’ve been on some kind of roller coaster ever since.”

“A vision?” Free asked to clarify. “You have never had such a thing happen before, have you?”

“Absolutely not,” Chloe asserted, “and frankly it scared the hell out of me. I saw a man, as clearly as if I were standing in front of him and all of a sudden a time and a place popped into my head. I can’t explain it, but I knew, just knew that he would be at that location at that time.”

“Interesting,” Free responded. “And did you pursue this vision?”

“I did and there he was, exactly as I’d seen him, right down to the clothes he was wearing. It was creepy.”

Free paused. What Chloe was describing didn’t sound like anything he’d ever experienced or even heard of with regard to premonitions, but he wasn’t sure if he should share that information with his friend. “And what will you do now?”

“If I knew that, Free, I wouldn’t be calling,” Chloe replied, a hint of impatience creeping into his normally cool tones. “How do you know if a vision is showing you something you should do or something you should avoid?” Chloe asked.

“Listen to your heart, my friend. Your intuition is a much better guide than your head and something that too many people ignore. Did you sense any danger when you had your vision or when you met the man?”

“Danger, no,” Chloe replied and then amended, “well, not exactly anyway.”

“Explain,” Free instructed.

“My impression when I met him was that he was complicated, sophisticated, controlled and entirely too well-informed. He’s a dangerous man, but I sensed no danger directed at me, if that makes any sense.”

Far away, Free nodded, the gesture going unnoticed and then replied, “I do understand, though I would like to know what you meant by well-informed.”

“He knew my name, Free. I hadn’t introduced myself yet and he already knew my name. He gave some story about having heard of me from some friends, but it sounded pretty weak. I know I’ve certainly never laid eyes on him before. I would’ve remembered and his name is unfamiliar.”

“All this and yet you pursued a meeting with this man?” Free asked. “You must have been very bored indeed.”

“Well, no,” Chloe paused and shifted his weight to lean against the wing chair Brad had occupied earlier. “That was my impression of him after I met him. None of his personality came through in the vision, just his appearance, the address and time and…”

“And?” Free pressed. “What emotion did you pick up, curiosity?”

“Lust,” Chloe responded bluntly. “I was instantly and nearly painfully aroused.”

On the other end of the connection, Free chuckled softly. “I see. So your pursuit of this man is based solely on the notion that you have been granted a vision to assist you in obtaining a…hookup?” Free said the final word tentatively, having heard it from the younger crowd, but never having employed it himself.

Chloe laughed out loud before replying, “Busted.”

“Very well, my friend; you tend to matters of the heart on your own and I will refrain from giving you advice. I would ask, however, that if you do decide that it is safe and wise for you to pursue this, you call and check in with us every few hours.”

“Yes, mom,” Chloe teased in response.

“I am serious, Chloe,” Free shot back. “I am not at all certain that I like this and I want to know where you are if we need to come get you.”

What had been funny a few minutes earlier now sounded gravely serious and Chloe took Free’s message to heart. “I’ll be careful and stick to public areas when I can. I’ll even text your cell with my location when I move, okay?”

“Thank you,” Free replied and then added, “Enjoy your day off,” before ending the call.

Chloe closed his cell phone and stared at it a moment before tucking it back inside the pocket of his leather jacket. When he looked up, it was straight into the eyes of Brad Crawford. “You finished?” Chloe asked as he crossed the room to where Brad was standing in the doorway.

“Yes,” Crawford answered simply and draped his suit bag carefully over his left arm. “Shall we go?”

Chloe raised one eyebrow to question Brad’s statement. “We?”

Crawford smiled and felt light enough after his decision to let things play out and enjoy the game. “Since you seemed so determined to wait for me, I thought perhaps you might like to go somewhere a bit more private, have some tea or coffee and…get to know each other better.”

Chloe grinned back at his companion and thought, ‘game on.’ “Alright, Mr. Crawford, lead on.”

Escorted by the ever helpful Niles, the two men exited the building and walked straight into a cab the receptionist had standing by.

“If your suit fits half as well as the service of the staff here implies,” Chloe started, giving a nod in the direction of Crawford’s suit bag, “I’d love to see you in it sometime.”

Brad grinned at the suggestion and turned to face the driver, giving an address on Piccadilly before turning back to face Chloe. “I get all my suits from Harney’s, but if you really want to see this one in particular, I’m sure we can arrange something.”

Piccadilly was only a short ride away and Chloe was still grinning from ear to ear when the cab slowed down on a side street by a large hotel. The doorman opened the cab door, took the suit bag and waited patiently as Brad paid the driver. Chloe stepped out of the taxi and stared up at the building’s façade until he heard the doorman speak.

“Welcome back, Mr. Crawford. You and your companion go right on in, sir. I’ll make sure your bag gets to your room.”

Crawford nodded and Chloe followed along behind as he rushed through the revolving door and into a world of brass, gold, marble, and splashes of intense color.

“Mr. Crawford,” the man at the long desk addressed as Brad approached. “I didn’t think we were expecting you today.” He started to type on the keyboard for his registrations computer and frowned until Crawford spoke.

“No, no, I don’t have a reservation, but I’ve found myself in the city for the day rather unexpectedly and I was hoping that you could put me up for the night.”

Visibly cheered that a reservation for a valued guest hadn’t gone awry, the desk manager tapped a few keys and smiled. “Oh, certainly, let me see what I have.” He paused briefly. “I’m afraid the suites you prefer are all engaged, sir. However, I do have a junior suite or a deluxe king available.”

“The deluxe king will be more than adequate, thank you and thank you for accommodating me on such short notice.”

“Not at all, sir, that’s what we’re here for. Do you have any bags with you?”

“Just one suit bag,” Crawford answered. “George has it.”

The porter standing nearby immediately retrieved the bag and returned to accept the large brass key from the desk manager. “Room 625,” he directed before turning back to face Brad. “Please enjoy your stay, Mr. Crawford.”

Brad and Chloe followed the porter to the elevator and then the few short steps to the room. As the porter hung the suit bag inside the wardrobe and handed the key over, Chloe investigated the small, but opulent space and the view of London from the two windows opposite the door.

With the porter gone and Chloe’s back turned, Brad shrugged out of his suit jacket and shoulder holster and hung them in the closet next to his garment bag. As he closed the door and turned back to face the room, he watched quietly as Chloe finished a movement with his phone and tucked it back inside his jacket pocket. After a quick detour to lock the door, Brad joined Chloe at the window, standing behind him. “Nice view,” he commented in a low voice.

Chloe turned around, slightly surprised to find Crawford standing so close. “Yes, it is rather a nice--”

“I wasn’t referring to London,” Crawford interrupted to clarify.

“Oh, I see. Thank you very much,” Chloe replied with an impish grin. “It’s pretty good without all the window dressing as well.”

Brad raised an eyebrow. Chloe seemed absolutely fearless as well as flirtatious. He found himself growing more and more intrigued by the minute. Taking a step forward, Brad ghosted a small kiss over Chloe’s tempting lips before pulling away, just an inch, and whispering, “I believe I’d like to see that for myself.”

Chloe licked his lips and sent a heated gaze in Crawford’s direction before pushing him back a step with one hand to the center of his chest and then shrugging out of his leather jacket. Using the desk chair as a valet, Chloe hung his jacket and started slowly undoing the buttons of his dress shirt.

Brad settled back, leaning with one hip against the back of the small loveseat, and enjoyed the show. As each inch of Chloe’s creamy white skin was revealed to his view, Crawford found himself more and more turned on. It still bothered him that his gift had not predicted the odd twist of fate that had put Chloe in his path this morning, but even that wasn’t enough to make him walk away from the feast that was slowly being revealed before his eyes.

Before removing his trousers, Chloe emptied the contents of his pockets onto the surface of the desk. Brad’s eyes had tracked Chloe’s moves with great interest as he performed his little striptease, but he managed to miss the shoes, slacks and underwear as his eyes caught and remained transfixed by the small pile of condoms and lube sachets tossed next to a ring of keys and a wallet.

A now naked Chloe stepped forward and seeing the focus of Brad’s attention, turned Crawford’s gaze back to his own with a single finger. “Been a while?” he asked as the index finger of one hand wandered from Brad’s chin, up his face to his temple and then across and down the slope of his nose; a gentle teasing to relax and refocus him, while his other hand gently removed Brad’s glasses and set them carefully onto the desk.

It had indeed been quite a while, but Crawford wasn’t about to admit that to a potential bedmate. “I was just thinking that you came very well prepared,” he said instead with a motion of his head to indicate the condoms. “Boy Scout?”

“A what?” Chloe queried. 

“Never mind,” Brad replied as he gathered the blond into his arms and kissed him again.

As Brad’s hands wandered to Chloe’s ass, pulling, spreading his cheeks, and teasing at his crack, Chloe went wild, devouring Brad’s mouth and trying to get his hands between them to pull away all the clothing preventing him from getting closer. Unable to reach either buttons or zipper, Chloe raked his hands down Brad’s back in frustration. “Too damned many clothes,” he growled as he broke away from their kiss. “I want to feel you.”

Crawford was so worked up, he was nearly ready to just lower his zipper and bend Chloe over the nearest chair, but when the lanky blond voiced his desire to feel Brad’s skin, Brad released his grip on Chloe’s ass and began to comply. His efforts were hampered rather than helped by a frustrated and enthusiastic Chloe who kept getting his fingers in Crawford’s way. Shirt half undone and belt loose, Brad lost his patience, grabbed Chloe by the wrists and walked him backward until he was leaning on the wall by the bed and directly next to the window. “So eager are we?” Crawford asked.

“Aren’t you?” Chloe challenged as he thrust his hips forward to get some much desired friction for his neglected erection.

Crawford shivered in anticipation, but lifted Chloe’s arms and placed them on the wall above his head. “Stay,” he commanded and then moved safely out of arms reach. Crawford then tugged his shirt from his pants, unfastened his clothing and stripped in record time, pausing only long enough to drape them with a small amount of care over the back of the loveseat behind him.

Cooler now and slightly more in control, Crawford returned to Chloe and leaned against his chest, pinning him to the wall.

“Are you going to fuck me here in the window for all of London to see?” Chloe asked teasingly as he tried to crane his head to nip at Brad’s lips.

Brad laughed softly. “It was an idea, I confess, but I’ve reconsidered. I think I’d prefer to be allowed back here. I’m rather fond of this hotel and I suspect that causing a ten car pileup in the middle of Mayfair might well be grounds to bar one for life.”

Chloe laughed back, a rich and throaty sound that stirred Crawford’s cock even more. “I’m flattered that you think I’d be so much of a distraction.” The light sparkled and danced in Chloe’s eyes as he thanked Brad. Feeling generous, he asked with mock coyness in his voice, “So where would you like me instead?”

Something about the disparity between the rawness of the question and the faux innocence of Chloe’s voice snapped Crawford’s last reserves. Brad pulled Chloe away from the wall, pulled down the comforter and pushed him, face down, over the edge of the bed. Leaning forward, Brad ran his tongue in a long swipe from the base of Chloe’s spine all the way up to his neck before moving to the side and giving a small nip to the blond’s ear.

Crawford separated himself from Chloe long enough to grab a condom and a packet of lube off of the desk and moved quickly back. The time for teasing and games and foreplay had passed. Pausing only long enough for the barest of necessities, Crawford quickly rolled on the condom, made three token thrusts with two lubed fingers deep into Chloe’s pulsing hole and then forced himself inside in one merciless thrust.

Two backs arched at the moment of penetration, their spines mirroring the shock to their brains that were caught now in the grip of overwhelming lust and pain-tinged pleasure. The pause was barely a breath long, however, since both men desperately craved more. Chloe arched back, pushing his ass back and up to meet Brad’s driving hips. Crawford’s fingers dug into Chloe’s hip and shoulder, grabbing for leverage as he continued a punishing pace.

Chloe’s hands, damp now with sweat from the exertion, pushed down deeply into the mattress as he fought to impale himself with more and more force onto Brad’s cock. Both men, relentless in their quest to bring each other off, finally achieved their goal. Chloe’s scream and pulsing jets of semen were both lost in the expensive, high thread count cotton sheet enclosed mattress; Brad’s were stifled by a condom and sheer force of will.

Sated and exhausted now that their mutual goal was finally achieved, both men collapsed to the bed as though some puppet master had abruptly cut their strings. Chloe hummed in boneless satisfaction and Brad’s lips traced a line of lazy kisses between Chloe’s shoulder blades as the hum vibrated through his body. Crawford had enjoyed using Chloe’s body, but was also glad to hear that Chloe had enjoyed himself as well.

Now, however, their fun was over and not wishing to either linger or crush his new playmate unnecessarily, Brad slowly pulled out of Chloe’s body and straightened from his sprawl over the bed. He reached for a handful of tissues, disposed of the condom and cleaned himself off.

On the bed below, Chloe sprawled, exhausted and half asleep. Brad snatched another handful of tissues and gently wiped his exhausted lover off a bit before picking up his legs and sliding him more fully onto the mattress and then tucking him in. A drowsily mumbled, “thanks,” issued from Chloe’s lips seconds before he gave up the battle for wakefulness and yielded to the pull of sleep.

Standing by the bed, Brad indulged in a small, wry smile knowing it would go unseen. Crawford felt oddly energized rather than tired so sleep didn’t sound as tempting to him. He did, however, feel overly warm, sticky, and strained from recent exertions so he made his way to the bathroom, deciding to indulge in a long, hot shower.

The tension and indecision provoked by Chloe’s sudden appearance floated away much like the swirling stream of soap bubbles that circled and disappeared down the drain. Crawford decided that he felt good and that, perhaps, he wasn’t quite ready for it all to end.

Shutting off the water once he was clean, Brad dried himself with the plush towel that awaited him on the small heated bar and slipped into one of the soft cotton robes provided by the hotel before stepping back into the main room and retrieving his glasses. On the bed, Chloe had shifted to roll over onto his back, but he was still asleep. Crawford walked to the bed and, propping up a handful of pillows against the headboard, made himself comfortable on the side of the bed opposite Chloe.

Brad took a few moments to indulge in simply watching. There was little he didn’t know about the assassin; including things, Crawford guessed, of which even Chloe’s own team might not be aware, but a dossier was never the same as experiencing someone in person. He found the tall blond man to be as intriguing as he was sexy. Flirtatious yet cautious, soft yet dangerous; he was an enigma and Brad felt himself drawn forward. He wanted to know more, experience more with this relative stranger. It was a compulsion like falling into quicksand, gently pulling him inexorably downward.

Crawford watched with a sense of disconnectedness as his own hand reached forward to brush a bit of Chloe’s hair off his forehead and then marveled at his own strange behavior. It was dangerous to allow this, dangerous to himself and to Grau to allow an outsider into his life and yet…

Slowly, Chloe’s eyes fluttered open and he looked up at Brad. “Sorry, I guess I nodded off,” Chloe apologized.

Brad shook his head to deflect any need for apologies. “It’s perfectly fine. I went ahead and took a shower.” After a pause he asked, “Would you like one?”

Chloe started to answer, but was cut off when his stomach decided to, inelegantly, express its displeasure at being ignored.

Brad smiled and added, “And perhaps, if you have the time, we could have a bit of dinner after that? After all, we never quite managed that tea and coffee that I promised you.”

Chloe chuckled softly at both his own embarrassment and at the reference to their mutual impatience after arriving in the room. “I do have time. That would be very nice, thank you.”

Crawford rolled off the bed and looked away discreetly as Chloe made his way to the bathroom. “You should be able to find anything you might need in there,” he called out over his shoulder. “They keep the rooms very well supplied. There’s an extra robe on the back of the door as well, if you’d like to use it.”

Brad heard the door click shut and exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized that he was holding. Why all the sudden tension and nervousness now, he wondered? Then he remembered his hand reaching forward and brushing aside Chloe’s wispy blond hair. Suddenly this little rendezvous was morphing from a simple little romp in the sheets to something entirely different, Crawford realized.

Taking a deep breath, Brad willed his nerves back under his control and opened the closet door. Seeing his new suit pressed and hung in its bag gave him an idea. A quick survey of Chloe’s dress shirt and pants and a glance back to the jacket and tie Crawford had worn earlier decided it.

Brad unzipped the suit bag and dressed himself quickly and efficiently in his new shirt, tie, and suit and then laid out Chloe’s clothing paired with his old jacket and tie. Picking up the phone, Brad called down to the dining room for a reservation just as the sound of the shower ended. “Change of plans,” Brad called out as he hung up the phone.

The bathroom door opened a crack and Chloe poked his head out the door. Seeing Brad fully dressed and catching sight of his hand just letting go of the phone, Chloe frowned and asked, “You need me to leave?”

“No, no,” Brad protested, hoping Chloe didn’t think he was being hustled out the door like a prostitute. “Sorry for the confusion. It’s just that I had originally planned to simply call up for room service, but since you wanted to see the new suit, I thought I’d indulge you by wearing it to dinner downstairs.”

Chloe’s eyes opened wide and he stepped out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist, to size up Brad and his new suit, shirt, and tie. “Very nice,” Chloe commented as he leered and privately hoped that he would get a chance later on to peel Crawford back out of it after their meal.

“I’m glad you approve,” Brad replied playfully. “I’m afraid the dining room requires a jacket and tie, but if you don’t mind borrowing mine, the jacket and tie I wore earlier today match your shirt and slacks well enough. The fit won’t be the best, but I think it will do.”

Chloe glanced down at the clothes draped carefully over the edge of the bed and nodded. Gathering them up in his arms, he returned to the bathroom to finish drying off and dressing. As he slipped his arms into Crawford’s jacket and worked on the tie, Chloe repeatedly caught Brad’s lingering personal scent. After fumbling with the tie twice, Chloe stopped fighting with himself and yielded to the desire to take a deep breath. The spicy mix of Crawford’s cologne and his unique pheromones generated a predictable arousal in Chloe, but at least he was finally able to tie the blasted tie. 

As he finally finished the knot successfully, Chloe smiled at his own reflection and wondered if he would even taste his dinner or if he’d be forced to fight down an erection all through the meal. With a final touch of his fingers through his hair to tame a few errant strands, Chloe exited the bathroom to submit himself for Crawford’s approval.

Brad’s ever-watchful eyes noted every detail of the too large shoulder and the too short sleeve on the jacket, but it was an effort for him to look anywhere other than Chloe’s smiling face.

“So, do I pass muster?” Chloe asked.

“Oh, yes,” Brad commented as he walked forward and circled around the other man. “You look nearly as good dressed as you do undressed.” Getting up close and dropping his voice to a throaty whisper he added, “Though seeing you dressed in my clothes is making me re-think letting you out of the room at all.”

Chloe stepped forward far enough for Brad to feel the erection still half hard in his trousers and whispered into his ear, “If it makes you feel any better, the scent of you on your jacket and tie has the same effect on me.” Finishing with a tiny lick and nip at Brad’s ear, Chloe took a quick step backward and smiled with embarrassment when his stomach added its opinion to their conversation.

Crawford grinned back. “Well, I suppose we’ll both simply have to manage the best we can. I can’t have you starving, particularly if either of us has any hope of living up to the ideas we have running through our heads right now. Certainly, for what I have in mind, you’ll need your strength.”

Chloe’s smile turned sly and knowing and his eyes darted off to the side. Brad followed the glance to the desktop and the small pile of condoms and lube that still resided there.

“Do I still seem so over-prepared?” Chloe asked in a husky whisper.

Brad chuckled as he crossed the room, scooped up the small pile and deposited it in a bedside table drawer. Picking up the room key, he returned to Chloe’s side and stared deeply into the blond’s icy blue eyes. “No,” he said seriously before heading to the door and holding it open for his dinner companion.

Chloe gave a small shiver at the implied promise buried in Brad’s one word response. There were still two condoms left and Chloe looked forward eagerly to seeing just how his enigmatic lover intended to use them. Suddenly realizing that he was holding up the proceedings, Chloe quickly retrieved his wallet, keys, and phone and hustled out the door and across the hall to the elevator while Crawford closed and locked the room behind them.

Once the elevator arrived, Brad ventured to ask, “Would you care to stop in the bar for a glass of sherry before dinner?”

“Why not,” Chloe responded. He enjoyed a good glass of sherry occasionally, but more than that, he wanted to have an excuse for watching Brad’s lips as he drank and savored the liquor. Would he dab his lips with a napkin or would his skilled tongue dart out and catch any stray droplets?

Brad’s lips crooked up on one side in half a grin as he caught the reflection of Chloe’s expression in the mirrored elevator doors and guessed where his mind had wandered. Unable to resist teasing his new lover a bit, he commented, “Of course, no matter how delicious the libation, I doubt it will be able to compare with that delectable patch of skin I found just at the base of the back of your neck right after I--” 

The quiet that had surrounded them so intimately in the privacy of the elevator car was instantly shattered by a hundred voices all chattering loudly in dozens of conversations as the doors parted and admitted the din of the hotel lobby. Brad silently crowed to himself at his perfect timing and stepped off the elevator.

The interruption was irrelevant though because Chloe knew the rest of the sentence perfectly well and finished it in his head just as Brad had intended. ‘Right after you fucked me into the mattress,’ he thought. ‘Tease me all you want, Mr. Crawford. Two can play at that game.’

The men crossed the floor and navigated the crowd until they reached the lounge. While Brad made his way to the bar, Chloe chose a small table tucked discreetly away from the other patrons.

“Amontillado,” Brad informed him as he joined Chloe at the table and handed over his drink. “I hope it meets with your approval.”

Chloe took a sip and savored the flavor before nodding in agreement with Crawford’s choice. “Very nice,” he pronounced as he set the glass down and relaxed back into his chair and fingered the stem of his glass. “You’re being very generous, Mr. Crawford. I hope I haven’t made you feel obligated in any way.”

Crawford stared at the intriguing man opposite him, careless flirting and yet addressing him so formally despite the passion they’d recently shared. A small bark of a laugh escaped his mouth like a cough and he disguised it by taking a small sip of sherry. “Why not,” Crawford asked after he’d swallowed. “I have a great many obligations and I can assure you that not one of them is nearly so pleasant as buying dinner and drinks for a beautiful man who certainly seems to want to share my company.”

“Thank you,” Chloe responded simply to the compliment while he gathered his thoughts. “I only meant that there was no need to spoil me. I would have been content getting to know you somewhere far less opulent than,” he gestured around himself in lieu of finishing the sentence.

Crawford nodded. He’d understood exactly what Chloe had been trying to convey, but he found himself feeling bizarrely playful, Schuldig’s bad influence no doubt, and he was enjoying the flirtatious war of words that they were undertaking. It had become almost like a mental form of foreplay between them, the teasing and tempting and double entendres, between courses of other, more physical delights. “Very well, if the notion disturbs you, we’ll simply call it a courtesy, a gesture of my profound appreciation for your sudden appearance today,” he conceded.

“I’m glad you appreciate it now,” Chloe teased. “You seemed a bit peeved by my presence earlier.”

“Your arrival, our meeting in that way was…unexpected.”

Chloe tilted his head to the side and studied Crawford’s face. “You aren’t surprised very often, are you?"

Brad huffed out a small laugh. “Never.”

Chloe thought of Free for a moment and frowned. “I never realized how sad that must be.”

Crawford’s expression registered confusion.

“It’s just that I have a friend who has a knack for knowing things, strong intuitions I suppose you might call it. Anyway, nothing much ever seems to surprise him either, and I just realized how much fun that must take out of life,” Chloe elaborated.

Crawford sat back in his chair slightly stunned by the idea that a relative stranger would intuit such a notion, let alone care; especially when he himself valued it so little. Fun, joy, happiness, freedom; how many years had it taken Rozenkreuz to drive the meaning of those words out of his mind? How many years did he fight just to get one of those human ideals back? And now, his extended band of brothers finally had their freedom back, to some extent anyway. It was selfish to ever expect more, especially for himself, wasn’t it? 

Crawford was secretly glad when his odd little family could find ways to carve out bits of happiness and joy for themselves, even if it did frequently leave him with a pounding headache, but he’d never felt free enough to set his own responsibilities aside long enough to search out any of that kind of joy for himself. He felt a moment of panic. How could this be safe? How could this be alright? ‘I must have misinterpreted the signs,’ Crawford thought. And then, suddenly, he felt a cool hand descend over his own.

“Mr. Crawford?” Chloe asked, the concern clear in both his voice and in his discerning pale blue eyes.

At the sound of Chloe’s voice and the touch of his hand, Crawford felt some of the building panic begin to ebb away like a receding tide. “Brad,” he offered simply. “My name is Brad.”

Chloe gave the hand under his a small squeeze in gratitude before withdrawing it. “It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Brad Crawford,” he teased with a wink and then saluted with his sherry before taking a sip.

Feeling unnerved by his emotional response, Brad drained his sherry glass and checked his watch for the time. “Shall we?” he asked, gesturing toward the doorway with a nod of his head.

Chloe finished his sherry and pushed back his chair by way of answer and both men walked the short distance to the dining room.

The large space was relatively empty that evening and they were seated on the far side of the room from the entrance at a comfortable table that was situated between the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlooked the hotel’s garden. The walls to either side of the dining room were dominated by a massive statue at one end and a floor-to-ceiling mural on the other. Despite the room’s size and the scale of the decoration, the gentle lighting and space between guests instilled an intimate feeling to each table and Chloe smiled as he took it all in before looking down to consult the menu.

Already familiar with the hotel’s offerings, Brad watched Chloe surreptitiously from the corner of his eye. If he hadn’t had the man’s dossier in his office, complete with photographs of him in action and graphic stills of his kills, he could never have picked Chloe out of a random crowd of people as being an assassin. 

Rozenkreuz assassins were dark, deadly and damaged people. They looked every bit the part of what they were. Even those who retained a physical sense of beauty could never disguise the blackness of their hearts. Nagi was the nearest thing to pure Brad had ever come across in their organization and even then, there was a lifeless look in Nagi’s sometimes cold eyes that betrayed his origins and purpose. 

They’d all been broken and rebuilt. ‘And survived,’ Crawford prompted himself to add, and maybe he really did need this to remind himself why they’d endured it all. Schuldig liked to tease him about needing to get laid, but recently Brad had sensed an earnestness about the jokes that suggested Schu was genuinely worried about him on some level and meant what he was saying. 

And then, in the midst of all these ruminations, it hit him. Schuldig. Schuldig, whom Brad had tossed out at an unsuspecting London that very morning, had been gone all day and he’d never heard a peep. There were no explosions, no deaths reported on the news, and no calls every five minutes asking when Aya and Youji would return. Something was up.

Turning to face Chloe, Brad lowered his menu and cleared his throat. “May I ask you a question?”

“Certainly,” Chloe responded as he too set his menu aside.

“This may seem like an odd question, but how exactly did you find yourself outside of Harney’s today?”

Chloe shifted awkwardly in his seat. “That’s a difficult question to answer.”

“You’ve never been there before?” Brad asked.

“No,” Chloe admitted.

“Were you on your way to someplace else, somewhere nearby?” Crawford wondered if it really could have been just a coincidence after all.

“No,” Chloe replied softly. “Harney’s location is the address that I gave to the cab driver who brought me there, though I didn’t know what it was at the time.”

“Why?”

Chloe sighed and shrugged his shoulders. “I know this is going to sound mad,” he started.

Brad smiled thinking of all the things he’d seen and done in his lifetime. “I rather doubt it.”

Chloe looked skeptical, but forged ahead in spite of it. “I was in Soho earlier at a…well a sort of club that I sometimes visit when I have a day off and…” His voice trailed off.

“Yes,” Brad prompted.

“I saw you.”

“You…saw me? You, what, followed me? But you arrived before I did and I certainly wasn’t at any club today.”

“No, no, I don’t mean that I saw you in person. I saw you in my head. I mean, I had some kind of, I don’t know, vision or something, and then the address for Harney’s and a time to be there popped in as well.”

Crawford sat back in his chair, stunned. Could he really be another pre-cog? They had no data on Chloe possessing any such powers. “Has anything like that ever happened to you before?”

Chloe shook his head and breathed a sigh that his new lover wasn’t simply running away screaming and thinking that he was mad. “Absolutely not,” he assured Brad.

Crawford wracked his brain and then something Chloe had said finally got his attention. “Wait, you said you’d been in Soho before you found me. Where exactly were you?”

“It’s a private club. The full name is Breaking Dawn, Setting Moon though it’s known mostly by its initials, BDSM. Why?” Chloe asked, curious how it mattered after the odd story he’d told.

The name meant nothing to Crawford. “What is the street address of the building?” Crawford persisted, willing to bet that it would sound annoyingly familiar.

Sure enough, the address that Chloe recited was the same one that he’d sent Schuldig to that very morning. ‘No wonder he smiled,’ Brad thought. ‘He’s probably some sort of lifetime premier member of the place.’

Chloe, nervous and unsure suddenly, studied Crawford’s face looking for clues to his reaction. “Would you like me to leave?” Chloe finally asked dejectedly. Their rendezvous had been going well up to that point, but sleeping with people who were seemingly crazy was probably a deal breaker for most, he thought.

“Absolutely not,” Brad answered, “though I would ask you to excuse me for just a moment. It occurred to me that in the rush, I neglected to check in and let my people know that I’d be out for the evening,” ‘and tear Schuldig a new one,’ he added silently in his head.

“Of course,” Chloe responded, though privately he wondered if Brad would lock himself in his room and ask security to toss him out.

Crawford stood and fished his phone out of his jacket pocket, but before he moved away, he walked over to Chloe’s chair and leaned over his lover’s shoulder. “Since you seemed to enjoy being able to surprise me so much, why don’t you go ahead and order for both of us. The chef here is excellent and all of the food is quite good. I’m curious to see what you think I’d enjoy.” With a final, discreetly hidden lick to the ear, Brad straightened and walked out of the restaurant to a phone cabinet in the lobby. It may have been a well intended prank and the meeting was certainly a success so far, but Crawford couldn’t let Schuldig’s little stunt pass unchallenged or his authority as the group’s leader would erode.

 

Back at home, Schuldig dove for the ringing phone only to grumble when the caller ID didn’t show either Aya’s or Youji’s number. He contemplated not answering at all since it was only Crawford and then remembered his little ‘gift.’ “Hello,” Schuldig drawled into the phone. “How was your fitting?”

Crawford gritted his teeth. Schuldig was baiting him, something he really should be used to by now. “How did you know where I’d gone?” he asked, curious how Schu had known when and where to direct the hapless Chloe.

“You must have been really out of it when your vision hit last night, Oh Captain My Captain, because you jotted down the address that you sent me to on the back of your appointment slip and never noticed.”

Crawford kicked himself. That was indeed careless of him and more proof, Schuldig would say, that his cracks were starting to show. “So then you’re saying that this situation is basically my own fault?”

Schu laughed into the telephone. “No, I’m saying that you should take some time to stop and smell the roses and if that involves you being out all night, so much the better. I have plans for the evening, noisy plans, and they don’t involve you.”

“Your plans might not even include you if I come home and shoot you right now,” Brad suggested.

“Well now, that would be a horrible way to express your appreciation of the lovely gift I sent, don’t you think?” Schu teased back with a pout in his voice.

“Schuldig,” Brad growled into the phone.

“Too much?” Schu asked.

“No more surprises and no more ‘gifts’, alright? I have a hard enough time keeping you idiots out of trouble without you dragging me into your fun and games.”

“Perish the thought, Fearless Leader. That’s why I found you your own playmate,” Schuldig explained. “Which brings me back to my original question, will you be staying in the city tonight?”

Tired of dealing with his teammate and wanting to get back to Chloe and his dinner, Brad finally huffed, “Yes, I’ll be back in the morning. Try not to destroy the place in my absence, will you?”

“Ja wohl,” Schu answered cheerily and then hung up.

 

Duty done, Crawford closed his phone and made his way back to his table where a smiling Chloe awaited him.

“Did you take care of your phone call?” Chloe asked.

“Yes, I apologize for that and thank you for your patience and understanding. My business is concluded and I am all yours for the rest of the evening.”

Chloe’s eyes went wide. “Oh really? Well that gives a man ideas,” Chloe remarked as he waggled his eyebrows and reached for his wine.

“I hope you’re planning on elaborating on those ideas later,” Brad responded as he tasted the wine Chloe had selected in his absence.

“You seemed to have had a few ideas of your own earlier and I was hoping that we could collaborate on one or two joint ventures this evening.”

Crawford raised his glass to suggest a toast. “Definitely,” he answered and they clinked their glasses together to seal the bargain.

Their meal arrived and Chloe, reminded once again just how hungry he’d been, started in. At the first delicious mouthful, all his vaunted plans for flirting and teasing went out the window. It was all he could do to restrain himself long enough to savor each bite. 

Unbeknownst to him, Brad watched, entranced, as Chloe all but made love to his dinner. Crawford was accustomed to the amazing quality of the hotel’s kitchen and had wondered if Chloe would appreciate it as well. His plans to impress the blond came with a definite downside, however, and Brad was having difficulty keeping his eyes averted long enough to eat his own dinner. When Chloe finally finished the last bite of his final course and set his fork down on the plate, Brad uttered a soft sigh and even he couldn’t tell if it had been relief or disappointment that laced the sound.

“That was marvelous,” Chloe uttered breathily as he leaned back in his chair. “Thank you very much for that.”

“It was most definitely my pleasure,” Crawford assured him. “Could I tempt you with dessert?”

Body sated for the moment, Chloe’s libido re-engaged. “You could tempt me with a great many things, I suspect, but I hate to indulge alone. Will you have something as well?”

Crawford gestured to the waiter and their table was immediately cleared. The wait staff returned bearing both a dessert tray and a bar cart.

Chloe eyed the offerings, a decadent selection of cakes oozing with frostings, fillings, fruits and nuts, but chose a simple glass of fresh fruit delicately dressed in chantilly cream.

“Would you like coffee as well?” Brad asked. At Chloe’s nod, Crawford turned back to the waiter. “Two coffees and I’ll have the Richard Hennessey.”

“Very good, sir,” the waiter replied and silently drifted away.

“You aren’t having any dessert?” Chloe challenged. “I told you I didn’t like to eat alone.”

“No,” Brad corrected him. “You said you didn’t like to indulge alone. Trust me when I tell you that the cognac I ordered is most definitely an indulgence.”

Chloe wasn’t quite prepared to believe him at first, but there was a certain eager light in Brad’s twinkling eyes that suggested Chloe might yet become witness to something special. Their coffee arrived first and as Chloe fixed his to his taste, he remarked, “It’s very nice.” At Brad’s quizzical look, he elaborated. “The hotel, it’s very nice. Do you stay here often?”

The waiter returned with Chloe’s berries and Brad’s cognac and Crawford hesitated to answer until they were once again alone. “Not often, no, but I do indulge myself in a short stay here from time to time when I need to get away.” He swirled the amber liquid before him and raised the crystal snifter toward his face.

“From people or from your business,” Chloe asked, curious what drove the intense man in front of him.

Brad inhaled deeply, relishing the bouquet and anticipating the taste to come and answered, “A little of both, I suppose,” before taking a sip.

Chloe watched Brad’s eyes drift closed as he savored the complexity of the cognac and sighed happily.

“Things are…better now, easier than they once were,” Brad opened his eyes to reply with a touch of melancholy, “but the responsibility can still become overwhelming.” Crawford lifted the cut crystal to his lips for another, larger sip and realized that he’d never admitted such feelings to another person, never said such things out loud at all before. His dinner companion couldn’t possibly know what his vague statements meant and yet it felt extraordinarily good to be able to say even that much to another living soul.

From his side of the table, Chloe watched in fascination as the tension drained out of Crawford’s face and posture. His new lover was clearly a man consumed by a rigid control that seemed to define his entire life and yet at least some small resilient portion of his personality drove him to help himself find an escape from the pressure, even if it was only for a few hours at a time. 

Something in the back of Chloe’s mind, perhaps through his instincts honed by his training as a professional assassin, told him that Crawford didn’t share anything easily and that these glimpses Chloe was privileged to witness were rare indeed. Chloe observed as Brad took another swallow of his cognac before smouldering eyes opened and caught him watching. Quickly returning to his dessert, Chloe enjoyed the fruit, but did not linger over it, preferring to return to their room as soon as Brad was willing.

“You’ve become awfully quiet,” Crawford remarked as he finished his coffee and pushed the cup aside.

Chloe sipped at his own coffee before replying. “I was just considering my good fortune at being here and meeting you. You’re a very interesting man as well as an attractive one.”

Crawford raised one eyebrow, unused to such comments.

“Oh come on, surely you’ve been told that enough times before,” Chloe remarked.

Brad swirled the remaining cognac and watched the play of light over the surface of the faceted glass. “Not by anyone who didn’t have an ulterior motive,” finally answered quietly.

Chloe sensed weariness and pain in Brad Crawford that felt familiar to him; maybe too familiar. It was unreasonable to suppose that such a chance meeting might have brought him together with a kindred spirit, particularly given Chloe’s profession outside of the obvious day job, and yet that was how it felt. “Do I have an ulterior motive?” Chloe asked. “I mean, of course, one beyond my wanting you to take me back upstairs to your bed.”

Piercing brown eyes pinned Chloe in place and searched. “No,” Brad finally answered. “I don’t believe that you do.”

“Well then,” Chloe purred out suggestively.

Crawford signaled for the check. As he signed the bill, Chloe playfully pulled the nearly empty snifter across the table to himself and drank down the last remaining swallow of cognac. Flavor burst and danced across his tongue and he knew his amazement must have been written across his face because Brad smiled and remarked, “I told you it was an indulgence; the finest cognac in the world.”

Chloe inhaled and tasted the renewed flavor. It was a heady, sexy flavor, full of promise and joy; the perfect nightcap for the evening Chloe hoped was forthcoming.

Obligations discharged, each stood and made their way to the elevator. Constrained by propriety to hold back until they reached their room, both men opted to stand well apart as they waited for the car. Decorum might be tedious, but it was normal and Chloe understood what it was like to crave normality given the life he led. He understood wanting to seize even a small piece of the happiness that others toyed with or cast aside on a whim but that he could never indulge in. 

Chloe frequented BDSM because he believed that anonymous hookups, such as the ones the club arranged, were the only option available to him, the only safe kind of human interaction he could engage in. It was too risky to pursue a relationship outside of Krypton Brand and unthinkable to pursue someone within the organization. The clientele at BDSM harbored no expectations and there were no questions asked beyond those of health and preferences. After a time, those nameless nights had become enough. 

Now though, seeing Brad Crawford, meeting him and talking to him and touching him, Chloe discovered that those long-buried feelings from his earlier life were racing back and once again stirring up those traitorous desires he’d long thought were buried and behind him. As they stepped off the elevator and Chloe watched Brad quickly work the key in the lock, he realized that he wanted more.

When the lock finally yielded, Brad thrust the door open and pulled Chloe inside. Patience at an end, Crawford closed the door and pushed Chloe against it before forcibly sealing their lips together. Chloe opened readily to the assault and moaned as he heard and felt Brad’s hungry sounds humming deep in the back of his throat. Crawford’s tongue seemed possessed by a mind of its own as it relentlessly searched out every nook and cranny of Chloe’s mouth. Gradually the frenzied kiss slowed and Brad raised one hand to grip Chloe’s jaw as he moved away, temporarily sated. Breath still tinged with the cognac they’d shared, the aroma of the liquor swirled and drifted around them as they panted in excitement.

“What brought that on?” Chloe struggled to whisper around the hand holding his jaw.

Brad inhaled deeply as though he were breathing in Chloe’s words instead of hearing them. Humming contentedly, Crawford licked playfully around Chloe’s lips as he answered, “You finished off my cognac. You’re already irresistible and the Richard Hennessey is extraordinary. Together you two are,” he paused to indulge in another brief kiss before finishing his sentence, “heaven.”

Chloe smiled and playfully reached for the tip of Brad’s thumb with his tongue. “Good,” he started to say as Brad allowed him to dip his head and pull the digit inside the hot, wet warmth of his mouth.

“It’s more than good,” Brad corrected as he turned his attentions towards one of Chloe’s sensitive ears.

Chloe arched his neck, breaking contact with Brad’s hand and explained breathily, “No, I meant good that I now know something I can do to make that happen again.”

Crawford’s body went still, but didn’t move away. “Do you want to make this happen again?” he finally whispered into Chloe’s ear.

At the very thought of more trysts, Chloe’s body shivered with excitement. “Oh, yes,” he breathed out in emphatic response and brought his hands up from his sides to run over Brad’s hips and ass.

When Chloe’s forearm bumped the bottom of Crawford’s shoulder holster, Brad moved two steps away as though he’d been delivered an electric shock.

“It’s alright,” Chloe tried to soothe with his voice. “I knew it was there or did you think I was trying to take it?”

Mood definitely derailed, Crawford shrugged out of his jacket and holster and hung both in the closet as he tried to settle his racing heart. “How did you know?” he finally asked.

Denied his first, more pleasurable, choice of activity, Chloe flopped down into one of the room’s chairs and answered. “Your tailor does an excellent job of disguising the line, but, frankly, when one doesn’t have a gun on,” he paused to hold open the side of his borrowed suit jacket, “it’s obvious that the sides aren’t uniform.”

Brad looked away in obvious annoyance and tugged his tie off viciously.

“Besides,” Chloe added, feeling a sudden attack of guilt for showing off observational skills that had had help. “I felt it when I helped you into Harney’s.”

Crawford groaned and hit his head against the wardrobe in frustration at his own carelessness.

“Hey, come on now,” Chloe jumped out of his chair and crossed the room. “It’s alright. I’m not going to tell anyone. I assume that if you’re willing to risk carrying here in the UK, you must have a good reason. I know a few other people who do as well, so please, relax, it’s okay.”

Brad allowed himself to be led back to one of the large wing chairs and sat down. “So you’ve known from the very beginning and yet you still…”

Chloe knelt on the floor in front of his lover and looked up, hungry eyes shining brightly. “Oh yes I did and I’m still hoping that we will again.”

Crawford shook his head, suddenly fearful for the devil-may-care streak Chloe was exhibiting. Crawford knew all about Chloe and still struggled with his decision, but Chloe knew nothing about him save his looks, his tailor, his favorite hotel and that he carried a gun and yet he jumped into bed with him. “Do you have a death wish?” Crawford asked as he adjusted his glasses and scowled down at the blond.

“Not especially,” Chloe answered as he removed Brad’s shoes and socks and then sat up to start working at his belt. “But neither am I easily intimidated or dissuaded when I see something that I want.” At Crawford’s continuing frown, Chloe sat back on his heels. “Are you actually concerned about me?”

“Well, someone ought to be,” Brad answered in an irritated voice.

“That’s adorable.” Chloe nearly squealed with delight at the thought until Crawford’s glare flashed in his direction. “I appreciate the concern, it’s touching, truly, but I promise you, I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, I know,” Brad responded and stood, pulling Chloe to his feet with him. Tired of feeling punches from a conscience he’d thought was long dead, Brad felt around Chloe’s waistline until he found the false belt loop he knew would be concealed there and pulled the small stiletto Chloe carried from its well disguised hiding spot.

Chloe’s face blanched and he immediately moved well out of arm’s reach. Brad remained still and quiet, wanting to see just how Chloe would react now that the proverbial shoe was on the other foot.

Taking a deep breath, Chloe calmly gestured toward the coffee table and requested, “Might I please ask that you set the knife right there on the table taking great care not to scratch yourself with it in any way?”

Brad raised one eyebrow and glanced down at the tiny rapier-like knife in the dimmed light of the room. “Poisoned, is it?” he asked as he complied with Chloe’s request.

“Yes,” Chloe breathed out in a sigh once Crawford had let go of the weapon and retaken his chair. 

For thirty seconds Chloe neither moved from his position nor spoke, but Crawford studied him carefully. It was almost as though he could hear and see the mental gymnastics as his lover caught up with the knowledge that Brad had possessed all day. “Are you alright?” Brad finally asked.

Chloe’s head snapped up and he looked around himself. “Yes, sorry, fine,” he muttered in Crawford’s general direction. “They dimmed the lights and turned down the bed while we were downstairs,” he commented distractedly as he wandered toward the king sized bed. Fingering the plush terry cloth of one of the two robes that had been laid out atop the bed, Chloe looked around and also took in the carefully closed drapes and the slippers set precisely on the floor on either side of the bed. “Good heavens, they really do spoil you here, don’t they?” With a small nervous laugh, Chloe sat heavily on the edge of the bed and stared at the light reflected off the facets of the crystal water carafe and glass the staff had provided atop each nightstand.

Brad rose from his chair and crossed the room to stand in front of Chloe. Bending slightly, he gave a light kiss to unresponsive lips.

“How did you know?” Chloe finally asked.

Brad sighed. He knew and Chloe knew that he knew, but they would continue to dance and play the game until they couldn’t play anymore. If Chloe was determined to drag it out, Brad could go along. “You aren’t the only one with nimble fingers and wandering hands. I could feel the rigid sheath buried in the seam earlier when we were…enjoying each others company.”

Chloe gave a small smile at Brad’s joke and finally made eye contact with him. “But how did you figure out the release?” The tiny hilt hidden by the belt loop had a catch that held the weapon in place until needed, but Brad had fingered it open easily.

“It isn’t hard to intuit the safety if you think about posture and draw. You’re going to want something that doesn’t slip off easily, but moves in the direction of draw for quickest removal. It’s not that different from any holster with lock stages. By the way,” he added with a grin, “my compliments to your tailor as well. It was very neatly done.”

Chloe laughed at the turned-around compliment, shrugged out of his jacket, and untied his borrowed tie. “His designs may be flashy rather than conservative, but Anders is very creative and very discreet.” Chloe paused to give a long, leering look over the length of Brad’s body. “I think I’d enjoy seeing what he could do with you.” 

Chloe handed both garments back to their owner and then unbuttoned his shirt and emptied his pockets onto the surface of the desk while Brad moved away to hang the items in the wardrobe. Quickly removing the rest of his clothes and draping them over the back of the loveseat, Chloe pulled on one of the robes, retrieved his slacks, and walked back over to the coffee table.

“Ah,” Brad remarked, finally understanding, “and here I thought this little disrobing of yours was for our mutual benefit.”

Chloe carefully retrieved the small knife and tucked it back into its hiding place, pushing firmly until he heard the small click indicating that the lock had been re-engaged. “I should think that getting this little item safely put away counts as mutually beneficial, wouldn’t you?” Chloe teased as he tossed the slacks back to join the rest of his clothing and flopped down on a nearby chair.

“Well, it’s a start,” Brad agreed grudgingly, “but what I’d had in mind for tonight could hardly be described as ‘safe’.”

Chloe laughed aloud and, struck suddenly with an idea, made his way to the door. “How about this,” he teased as he dangled the ‘do not disturb’ sign between his left thumb and forefinger. “Putting this out could also be described as acting safely. Does that fall in line with your plans?”

“Well, yes, technically, I suppose that would qualify, but--”

“And how about this,” Chloe interrupted to ask as he danced around Brad and retrieved one of the condoms from the bedside table drawer. “Isn’t using one of these generally described as practicing safety?” Chloe’s right hand wiggled the packet back and forth in front of Brad’s eyes playfully.

“You know that it is,” Brad growled as he snatched both items from Chloe’s hands and stalked to the door to hang the sign outside their room. Closing the door and locking it behind him, Brad turned in time to see Chloe drape his robe over the padded chest at the foot of the bed and crawl, naked, toward the middle of the mattress.

Crawford stopped in his tracks and stared in open admiration at Chloe’s elegant form, sprawled wantonly over the soft cotton sheets. Pale skin stretched over lean muscle wriggled and turned as he pushed the bedcovers farther out of the way and fluffed the pillow behind his head. Finally content, Chloe turned cool blue eyes Brad’s way even as one of his hands sought out his rising erection.

“Nothing,” Brad finally managed to say through a dry mouth, “about that, could ever be considered ‘safe’.”

A lascivious grin crept over Chloe’s face. “I don’t mind courting a little danger from time to time, do you?”

Crawford walked to the bed and sat the condom on the nightstand. “Not when the reward is worth the pain,” he answered honestly.

Chloe’s head turned slightly and his face showed his confusion. “Don’t you mean risk?”

Brad winced at his slip of the tongue and started to undress. “No, I don’t,” he replied. “I don’t take risks, I weigh costs.”

Chloe started to protest, to question Brad’s odd statement, but stopped himself. There was a look of raw truth peering out from behind those dark and serious eyes, and Chloe wasn’t certain if he was actually ready to hear it even if his lover felt inclined to share. After living so long listening to Free’s odd, enigmatic statements, Chloe had long since learned to let some things go. What he wanted now was to fuck and intellectual discussions and debates were not the best way to get there.

When Crawford finally stretched out next to him on the bed, Chloe took advantage of his position to run his hands over Brad’s body. The first time they’d had sex, Brad was behind him and while it had been very good, it had also denied Chloe the opportunity to look at and touch and study the sexy man. He was determined that this time things would be a little different. 

Urging Brad onto his back, Chloe kissed and nipped along his jaw line while one of his hands wandered over Brad’s chest and tweaked a nipple. Moving lower, Chloe’s mouth took the place of his hand and he sucked the hard little peak, flicking it mercilessly with his tongue until Brad finally gave up the moan Chloe had been waiting for. Busy hands moved endlessly over Crawford’s arms and torso and legs, gently mapping and arousing him.

Crawford rarely indulged in sex and he never let anyone touch him this way. Even as the Rozenkreuz-trained assassin portion of his mind railed at him to make it stop, the man who’d engineered the fall of the Elders told that part of his mind to fuck off, sit back, and enjoy the ride. It wasn’t easy for Crawford to let go, but he’d promised himself this one night. Even if he never got the chance again, Brad realized that he wanted and needed this one night to prove something to himself. And then Chloe’s lips attached themselves to his cock and all thoughts drifted away in a haze of bliss.

“Mmm,” Chloe hummed around the hard, hot flesh filling his mouth.

Brad groaned and tossed his head from side to side. It was an effort to keep his hands on the bed instead of reaching for Chloe’s head, grabbing his hair, and forcibly fucking his mouth.

Dexterous fingers rolled Brad’s balls, teasing his testicles until his legs parted without conscious thought. Chloe nestled himself in the gap and licked a long, slow path from root to crown while his fingers wandered further back and gently stroked Brad’s perineum. Chloe gave up the slow oral torture and closed his mouth over the hard length, letting his tongue dance. When his tongue circled the tip of Brad’s cock, over-stimulating the underside of the crown, Brad grabbed for a pillow in frustration, shoved it over his own mouth, and screamed.

“Sorry, too much?” Chloe asked, the unrepentant glee on his face no match for his words.

“Too much and not enough,” Brad complained.

When Chloe reached for a condom, rolled it onto Brad’s cock, slicked it and then impaled himself, though, Brad’s perspective on the situation changed dramatically.

“Better?” Chloe asked breathily when he’d taken in all that Brad had to offer.

Brad’s hands stroked up Chloe’s thighs and around his hips. Letting his fingers wander, they traced down his lover’s cleft until they reached the spot where the two men were joined. As he looked up at the debauched angel sitting astride his cock, Crawford realized that ‘too much and never enough’ was rapidly becoming closer to the truth. Grabbing one ass cheek in each hand, Brad simultaneously pulled them apart and thrust upward one last precious inch.

“Mm, much better,” Crawford’s voice purred.

Chloe gasped and braced his hands on Brad’s pectorals as lights danced before his eyes. That last thrust had been just enough for the tip of Brad’s cock to nail Chloe’s prostate and Chloe panted slightly in an attempt to regain his control.

Crawford remained still; content, now that he had his dick exactly where he wanted it, to allow Chloe to run the show though he did maintain his hold on Chloe’s ass.

Composure restored, Chloe’s fingertips darted this way and that, trailing fingernails every so often to vary the sensation, and he touched every part of Brad that he could reach from his well rooted spot. Getting his legs better positioned for leverage required Chloe to wriggle a bit on his perch and he smiled triumphantly when Crawford’s stoic demeanor cracked enough to roll his eyes and groan when his cock shifted inside Chloe’s body.

‘About damned time,’ Chloe thought as he pushed himself up and eased back down, getting a feel for how best to move. It was one thing to be dominant, Chloe understood that need, but the iron control Crawford evinced seemed to suffocate the man far more than it helped. He wanted to give his new lover freedom from that control. He wanted to unleash Brad’s passion and he wanted to see what it looked like when he did. Relentless in his purpose, Chloe’s legs worked his body tirelessly, impaling him over and over on Crawford’s unyielding rod. 

Sweat poured out of Chloe’s skin and Brad watched, captivated, as it painted sensuous, shining lines along his body that glowed in the dimmed lights of the room. Occasionally, the trails reached Brad’s body and pooled on his chest and lap and the cooled liquid tickled his fiery hot skin. Giving himself over to the experience, Brad inhaled the scent of Chloe’s sweat as it evaporated around him and felt an answering call in his own blood, stoking his passion higher.

It was odd having someone else be the active force in a coupling. A part of Crawford’s mind still wondered why he was even allowing it until his memory replayed Chloe’s voice asking after dinner, “Do I have an ulterior motive?” Looking up into pale blue eyes that projected both lust and determination, it finally occurred to Brad that he truly was on the receiving end of a gift. Not a gift in the crude way that Schuldig meant. Chloe was offering him an opportunity to experience something very different from his normal existence, something genuine and rare. 

Brad let go of Chloe’s hips and started to reach for the proud cock bouncing over his lap, but Chloe smacked his hands away and placed them down on his calves to help anchor him better. “You first,” Chloe vowed and picked up the pace.

Sliding his feet toward his hips, Brad braced his legs and thrust up on each of Chloe’s downward motions. With both men working in tandem, it was only a matter of minutes and Chloe watched hungrily as Crawford’s eyes took on a glazed quality and his skin flushed. He felt Brad’s fingers tighten ever so slightly where they gripped his legs and heard his breathing grow labored and erratic. Chloe’s thighs were beginning to fatigue badly, but Chloe wanted this, wanted it more even than his own orgasm, so he bit his lower lip and forced himself to keep up the pace. 

When a stuttered, “cl, cl,” sound edged out of Brad’s mouth, Chloe assumed his lover was close. What eventually tumbled out of parched lips when Brad thrust upward powerfully one last time and grabbed Chloe’s hips to pin them in place with his cock deep inside, however, was Chloe’s own name. Unable to move, Chloe squeezed the muscles of his ass to grip and milk the dick he could feel pulsing inside his own body. Driven wild by the vision Brad made beneath him, Chloe grabbed his own straining length and, after only a few tugs, erupted across Brad’s chest. 

As he came back into reality from the blankness that always seemed to follow a good orgasm, some part of Chloe’s exhausted mind wondered idly if the fastidious man he rested on would be annoyed by the mess. ‘Angry or not though,’ Chloe thought as he leaned back against Brad’s legs, utterly spent, ‘it was completely worth it to see Mr. Brad Crawford come totally unglued.’ Chloe shut his eyes and tried to burn the memory of that image into his brain. It was glorious.

When Crawford opened his eyes after his orgasm, it was to see Chloe climaxing and collapsing back against his upraised thighs. With his cock still half hard and dripping trails of white down its softening length, Chloe was the very definition of sated passion. In the absence of witnesses, Crawford allowed himself a rare, joyful smile of his own.

His first coupling with Chloe had been good, though not much different than many he’d had before. This romp in the sheets, however, had exceeded any and all expectations. It was, quite literally, mind numbingly good. He felt sated and at peace. Brad Crawford never felt at peace. If he wasn’t careful, he was in serious danger of actually laughing aloud from the freedom that he felt.

Freedom. Wasn’t that why he’d formed Grau out of Schwarz and Weiss and put all of them through the hell they’d endured? So that they would be free? In one day, Chloe had held a mirror up to Brad’s life and shown him exactly where he’d missed the mark.

Reaching up, Brad grabbed Chloe’s shoulders and tumbled him over onto the bed next to him. Chloe gasped as Brad’s cock separated from him when they moved, but smiled up at his lover when Brad’s face appeared above his own. 

Suddenly serious, Crawford kissed Chloe and cradled his head with his free hand. “Thank you,” Brad breathed over Chloe’s lips between kisses until his brain re-engaged enough to drive him from the bed to clean up. When Brad returned, he carried a warm, wet washcloth which he stroked slowly and softly across Chloe’s stomach and between his legs. After disposing of the washcloth over the edge of the tub, Brad rejoined Chloe on the bed and rubbed Chloe’s lightly twitching thigh muscles. “I know you’re in good shape, but I still think you’ll be very sore tomorrow.”

Chloe didn’t disagree. “It was worth it,” he assured his lover.

“Would a shower help?” Brad offered.

Chloe smiled back awkwardly. “I’m not actually certain I could stand right now,” he admitted.

Brad chuckled softly at his lover’s self-inflicted predicament and stretched out next to him on the bed. “Very well,” he said quietly as he pulled Chloe to rest half atop him within the circle of his arms. “We’ll just shower in the morning.”

Chloe’s expression instantly went from playful to serious. “You mean, spend the night?”

Brad met Chloe’s eyes and realized the offer he’d so casually insinuated. “Yes, I suppose that I do,” he replied bemusedly.

“Are you sure that’s what you want?” Chloe persisted.

Brad sighed and rolled them back over to pin Chloe beneath him. Before Brad could say anything, however, Chloe put two fingers over Brad’s lips.

“We’re the same, you and I, aren’t we?” Chloe asked in a whisper.

Brad gave one small nod.

“People like us, we don’t generally spend the night with anyone. It’s…risky.”

Brad nodded again. “It’s a calculated risk.”

Chloe’s mind returned to their earlier discussion. “Wait a minute. You don’t do risks, or so you said. You weigh costs and pain, presumably against some potential for reward.”

Brad’s eyes slid away and he stared at Chloe’s chin until Chloe ducked his head to regain his lover’s focus. 

“What aren’t you telling me?” Chloe asked, suddenly suspicious.

Brad rolled away from those too perceptive eyes and stared at the ceiling. Even he couldn’t believe the risk he was suddenly considering. If Chloe stayed, perhaps he could use the man’s proximity to force his powers into giving him the answers he was increasingly desperate to find. His earlier vision had revealed no long-term complications to his future from one quick romp; just short term, mutual satisfaction. This encounter had been no ‘one quick romp’ however, and Crawford was well aware that in engaging in this affair, he’d entered much more dangerous waters. 

It had seemed safe enough this afternoon to dismiss the tangled webs of futures that led away from prolonged contact or any revelations about himself and Grau because, frankly, he couldn’t believe he would ever contemplate doing such a thing. He’d been unable to fathom wanting Chloe more than once let alone wanting to see him again, but he had to admit that very thought had nagged at him more than once and now seemed to be taking up permanent residence in the back of his mind. 

Things had changed and now he needed new data. He needed to know more. He needed information he could use to decide how to proceed and then suddenly realized that it wasn’t even just Grau’s safety he was concerned for. He wanted to see for himself that there were no complications for Chloe if they continued their involvement. It was never wise to try to provoke complex visions. It was dangerous to both the body and the mind, but it felt too important suddenly to just let it go.

“In the morning,” Brad offered.

Irritated that he was getting no answer, Chloe frowned.

“I won’t hurt you in your sleep if that’s what you’re concerned about,” Crawford assured his lover.

Chloe relaxed slightly and stretched out on the bed, eyes still glued to Brad’s face like a hawk. “What is it then, nightmares? Flashbacks?”

Brad chuckled once in spite of himself at Chloe’s choice of words. “Not, flashbacks, no,” he answered as he turned his head and met Chloe’s eyes. “You aren’t going to let this go, are you?” he asked when he saw the determined expression fixed on Chloe’s face.

“Would you?” Chloe challenged.

Crawford’s lips turned up in a wry smile. “No, I wouldn’t,” he admitted. Resigning himself, Brad sat up and pushed the pillows up behind both of them so that they could lean comfortably against the large, solid wood headboard while they talked. Taking a deep breath, he launched into an explanation. “They’re like seizures in a way. The brain re-routes and I’m cut off from my other senses. They don’t usually last long and they don’t affect anyone around me. I’m not even certain if you would notice that I was having one if you were asleep yourself at the time.”

It was a fair, technical description of what happened in his head even if it still managed to hide the salient points of his pre-cognitive abilities. Deceiving Chloe was unpalatable, but necessary for both their sakes for the time being. Brad watched Chloe’s face as he processed what he’d heard and waited for his reaction.

“Is there anything you need me to do, or not do for that matter?” Chloe finally asked, deciding that the rest of his questions fell more into the category of morbid curiosity rather than need to know.

“Not really,” Brad responded as he considered the question. “I’ll wake up on my own when it’s over, so you needn’t concern yourself with trying to rouse me if you do notice anything. I’m not even certain it’s possible to interfere with one of these, but I don’t particularly want to find out.”

“Alright,” Chloe agreed and then was struck by a sudden thought. “That’s what happened to you when we first met outside Harney’s.”

Brad nodded. “Yes, I’m sorry if I frightened you. That attack was unexpected.”

“No, it’s fine,” Chloe answered, feeling slightly relieved now to know that he had seen an example of one of Brad’s attacks. Knowing what to expect alleviated the fears that had been building in the back of his mind at such an unknown quantity, especially one that affected Crawford’s health. 

“I think I could manage that shower now. If you’re still interested, that is?” Chloe offered in an attempt to change the subject. He could sense that there might still be more to the story than Brad was letting on, but Brad had already relented once when Chloe stood his ground and he didn’t wish to press his luck. If Chloe ever heard any more on the subject, he was certain it would be at Crawford’s discretion and on his time table.

By way of an answer, Brad rolled smoothly off the bed and started to reach for their robes. Chloe darted off the bed and intercepted Crawford’s hand, tugging him toward the bathroom with it. “Come on,” he urged playfully. “If we get in quickly enough, we’ll hardly have time to feel the cold. Besides,” Chloe paused to run his eyes up and down over Brad’s nude body. “I prefer the view this way.”

Brad sighed and shook his head in amused exasperation, but followed along. Chloe seemed insatiable and yet Crawford couldn’t deny that he was enjoying every minute with the man.

Just as the pair reached the threshold of the bathroom, a faint ringing noise started from the direction of the desktop where Chloe had left his wallet, keys, and phone when he’d disrobed. “Damn,” Chloe swore softly.

Brad turned back to the room and retrieved both robes, handing one to Chloe and putting the other on himself. “Call your friend back and reassure him that you’re alright. I’ll start the shower and you can join me when you’re done.”

Chloe watched as Brad closed the bathroom door and then shrugged into his robe before retrieving his phone from the desk to return Free’s call. Irritated at the delay, Chloe stabbed at the buttons on the keypad and took a deep breath to get his temper under control. It wasn’t fair to be annoyed with Free. He was simply being a good friend and a good teammate. 

“Are you alright?” Free asked in lieu of a greeting as soon as he picked up the phone.

“And good evening to you, too, Free,” Chloe teased back. “May I just say, once again, that your sense of timing stinks.”

“My timing, dear friend, is perfect. Would you have preferred it if I had called twenty minutes ago?”

Chloe winced. “Okay, point taken. I apologize. As interruptions go, this was perfect. Thank you for waiting.”

“Not at all, my friend. You are, however, late for your check in and I wanted to be certain that all was well.”

Chloe heard the sound of the toilet flushing and the water of the shower now muffled by a body instead of striking marble and glass. Chloe growled softly. ‘He’s starting without me and I’m missing all that sexy, wet Brad.’

“Chloe!” Free yelled into the phone, clearly not for the first time.

“Oh, um, sorry, what were we talking about?” Chloe asked.

Free sighed into the phone. “You promised to check in with me. I have heard nothing from you, however, since your text message earlier in the day.”

Chloe stared at the closed bathroom door. “Right, sorry, still at the same location and it looks as though I’ll be here until tomorrow morning.” Suddenly serious and focused, Chloe added, “Unless you need me to come back tonight?”

“No, my friend. There have been no changes or additions to our schedule that I am aware of though I am intrigued that you are intending to stay out all night. You have never done so before, in my recollection.”

“Nor mine,” Chloe whispered more to himself than to Free.

“Excuse me,” Free asked, wondering if he’d heard Chloe correctly.

“Sorry, it was nothing, Free, just babbling. I’m fine. I’ll leave the phone on and I’ll call you when I’m on my way back. Is that alright?”

“Perfectly alright, my friend. Please exercise caution,” Free urged.

“Yes, mom,” Chloe mocked good-naturedly. “I’ll stay safe,” he added and then laughed aloud as he remembered teasing Brad over the word.

“Chloe?” Free asked. “Why are you laughing?”

“Gotta go, Free,” Chloe said between gulps of air as the giggle fit continued. “Talk to you tomorrow,” he assured his teammate and then ended the call. Tossing the phone back down onto the desk next to his wallet and keys, Chloe tugged at the belt of his robe and marched back toward the bathroom. “And now back to our regularly scheduled wet dream,” he said aloud to the empty room and pushed open the door. 

“Oh yes,” Chloe murmured softly as he took in the view of Brad Crawford running his hands through his hair, over his chest and down his legs to rinse off the soap he’d clearly been covered in during Chloe’s absence. Tearing his robe off and tossing it at the vanity counter, Chloe stepped into the shower just as Brad sluiced the water away from his face and noticed his lover’s presence. “My turn,” Chloe asked playfully as he shimmied around Brad to stand under the water and tilted his head back to wet his hair.

Brad moved carefully away to make room in the shower and wondered at his own reticence about leaving. The tub/shower truly wasn’t intended for two and any antics in here could become dangerous, and yet Chloe was a bewitchingly beautiful sight with his platinum hair flowing back away from his face under the streaming water and Brad was finding it difficult to tear himself away. In the end, caution and a touch of fear over his growing fascination with his new lover won out and Brad stepped out of the small area trying hard not to see the frown on Chloe’s face. Stifling a curse, Crawford made a mental note to research hotels with large, walk-in showers in the event that he and Chloe would get together again. 

As he toweled himself dry, more vigorously than truly necessary, Brad warred with himself over the traitorous desires he was feeling. The steam from the shower had effectively fogged the long mirror and he found himself unaccountably glad that there was no face looking back at him as he railed at himself. Finally deciding to sleep on the issue and hope that the morning brought the answers he needed, Brad shrugged into his robe, cleaned his teeth with the brush, paste, and mouthwash provided by the hotel and slipped out of the bathroom just as Chloe was finishing his shower.

Leaning against the closed door for a moment, Crawford could hear the other man moving around inside. Brad wanted to push the door open and run his hands over all that delicious hot, wet skin, but instead he forced himself to walk away. He needed some distance, both literally and figuratively, he decided. It had been a wonderful day, but if it could never happen again, Crawford needed to be able to walk away. He had responsibilities. Fair didn’t enter into the equation. He’d worked too hard to free Grau from Esset to risk it all now because of a selfish attachment that benefited no one but himself. Two steps from the bed, Crawford stopped and turned back toward the desk to search out the hotel stationary and a pen which he then placed on his nightstand before crawling into bed.

 

In the bathroom, Chloe watched the door close behind Brad and cursed softly. All his wonderful plans for hot, slippery hand jobs and panting, moaning breaths adding to the steam already filling the room had dried up and disappeared. He’d seen sadness and frustration in those darkened and downcast eyes as Brad exited the shower and in the way he’d moved as he dried himself off. There was something going on inside the enigmatic Mr. Crawford’s head and Chloe felt helpless to do anything about it. They’d had so much fun today and yet it suddenly felt as though the sexy man was throwing on the brakes. Why now? 

Chloe shook himself out of his thoughts and grabbed a fresh towel to dry off. ‘Best to let it go,’ he thought. ‘I can’t do anything if he doesn’t want to include me.’ When he’d finished drying himself, using the toilet and brushing his teeth, Chloe used the towel to clear a small spot on the mirror so that he could see to finger comb his hair back into some semblance of order. Even if he was just heading to bed, old habits die hard and he hated being seen with his hair in disarray. 

As his own image stared back at him, Chloe wondered if it might be better for him to simply dress and slip away. Cocky, controlling and self-assured Crawford he was accustomed to, but this quiet, brooding Brad was an unknown quantity. Was he being greedy, wanting too much? Was it time to politely thank his host and make a graceful exit before he overstayed his welcome? Chloe was so unused to the vagaries of dating after years of nameless one night stands that it was hard to know what to do.

Finally finished and unable to stall any longer, Chloe tied the belt of his robe, turned off the light switch, opened the door and walked quietly back into the main room. After the stark brightness of the bathroom, the dimly lit bedroom area was difficult to see and Chloe stood a step outside the door until his eyes adjusted a bit. Only the small table lamp on Chloe’s side of the bed was still switched on and from that he could just make out Brad’s form, lying on his own side of the bed, his robe still belted around him and his eyes closed. Since he appeared to be sleeping, Chloe took it as a sign and crept quietly into the room to collect his clothing from the back of the loveseat. As Chloe made his way back to the bathroom door, he heard the click of a switch and the shadows around his legs receded as the light in the room doubled.

“What are you doing?” he heard Crawford’s voice ask.

Turning slowly, Chloe tried to search Brad’s dimly lit features for an indication of how to respond. The shadowed face offered up no clues, but he was saved from choosing when Brad rose and walked silently across the thick rug to where Chloe waited. “Do you need to leave?” Crawford asked with a calmness he didn’t feel. He hadn’t seen this coming at all. Chloe had kept him completely off his game all day and Crawford hated feeling so out of his depth.

“Need,” Chloe repeated back. “No, I don’t need to leave, but perhaps it would be better if I did.”

Brad sighed and took the clothing out of Chloe’s arms. Walking back to the bed, he laid down his bundle, shook each item out, and carefully folded and shelved some and hung the rest next to his own in the wardrobe. Closing the closet door, he walked back to where Chloe still stood, waiting. “Why?” Brad asked simply.

Now it was Chloe’s turn to sigh and he slumped heavily against the doorway, unwilling to move from his spot. “I had the feeling you’d rather be alone.”

Brad untied Chloe’s robe, reached around his waist and pulled him close enough to brush a series of breathy, hot kisses along Chloe’s jaw from his chin to his ear. “No, I simply preferred not to break my neck trying anything energetic in a shower designed for one,” Crawford whispered with sincerity. Why tell a lie when a half-truth will do beautifully, he’d always believed. Nibbling gently on Chloe’s ear and slipping a knee between his legs, Brad worked hard to convince Chloe to stay.

“Are you sure,” Chloe managed to ask after gasping a lungful of air when Brad found a sensitive spot, “that’s all it is? You really want me to stay?”

Brad slid his hands down over the cheeks of Chloe’s ass and pulled him closer. “Does that feel as though I want you to go?” Crawford asked. When Brad heard the groan he’d been waiting for, he knew he’d gotten his way.

Despite the groan, Chloe pushed at Brad’s chest hard enough to part their bodies a few inches. “Sometimes you confuse the hell out of me, but you’ve been worth it so far so I’ll stick around if that’s what you want. This, however,” Chloe waved his hand back and forth between them, “should probably stop if we’re actually planning on sleeping as opposed to passing out.” Chloe took a step to the side and forward so that he was next to Crawford. “As arousing as being around me is, can you honestly say that you’re in any shape to finish what you’ve started?”

Crawford’s head snapped to the side and caught the gleam in Chloe’s eye before he winked.

“You’ve got your way and I’m staying, but maybe we should just turn in and get some sleep. We don’t want to waste that last condom, now do we?”

Crawford shook his head and chuckled at both Chloe’s perception and his humor. He’d been caught out, scolded, teased, aroused, and told to come back for more all in less than a minute. ‘Unpredictable, the man is completely unpredictable,’ he thought

Chloe crossed the room gracefully and, with a flourish, removed the robe and draped it across the bed chest. 

Brad moved across the room, hung his robe from the edge of the wardrobe door, turned off his light, and then settled on the bed with an economy of motion.

When Brad was settled, Chloe snapped off the sole remaining illumination in the room and scooted down onto the bed next to his lover.

Made braver by the all-encompassing shadow and feeling an unaccustomed guilt at luring Chloe into staying under misleading pretenses, Brad apologized. “I am sorry if I made you feel unwanted in any way in the shower. That truly was never my intention. You are…so…captivating.”

Chloe rolled onto his side, reached out in the dark and, finding Brad’s arm, pulled it toward himself. Setting Brad’s hand securely onto his hip, Chloe ran his own hand up Brad’s arm, past a well muscled tricep and shoulder and then slid around his neck to pull their lips together for a quick kiss. “Thank you for that. You have to know by now that I feel the same way about you. You’re sexy and intriguing, and intelligent, and refined, and just a touch dangerous.”

Brad huffed a single, soft chuckle over Chloe’s lips. “You do realize that all those adjectives apply equally well to you?”

Chloe shrugged a shoulder and then realized that Brad likely couldn’t discern the movement in the dark by touch alone. “I’m just a gardener,” he finally responded softly.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Brad chided his lover. “You aren’t just anything.”

“No,” Chloe admitted, “I’m also a killer.”

Crawford shook the body next to his once. “You are not. You are an executioner. There is a distinguished and noble difference between the two. Never forget that.”

Chloe absorbed the words and his soul wanted desperately to believe them. More than that though, he wanted to kiss the man who could give him such a beautiful, hopeful idea. It wasn’t that Chloe ever doubted the rightness of what he did, but he never dressed it up with any notions of grace. It was a dirty job. It needed to be done to protect the unknowing public, and he was capable of doing it. At the end of the day though, he always believed that he was permanently tainted with the blood he’d spilt. He’d never dreamed he would ever meet someone willing to look past the stains on his soul, let alone give him a measure of dignity and respect for them. It was a bit like drinking an aphrodisiac. He wanted more of Crawford, anything and everything the man would give him.

“Chloe?” Brad asked, confused by the prolonged silence.

Chloe pulled Brad forward and kissed him passionately enough to ensure that his wayward lips had no chance to utter the thoughts that were starting to roll around in his head; thoughts that could never, ever, be spoken aloud between them.

Crawford rarely envied his teammates their abilities, but even he could tell that something had changed and, at that moment, he would have enjoyed being able to pull the thoughts from Chloe’s head. His kiss was passionate and yet had a desperate edge to it that disturbed Brad. He’d meant to reassure Chloe, not upset him. Needing to know and having no way to read his mind, Brad was forced to pull away from those luscious lips. “Are you alright?” he asked a touch breathlessly.

Chloe nodded and hummed, but no words passed his lips. 

Brad sensed that there was something more, but his conscience prickled at him once again and he decided that it was Chloe’s prerogative if he wanted to keep a few secrets of his own. Rolling onto his back, he pulled Chloe over into his side and half atop him. With his arm around Chloe’s shoulders, Brad turned Chloe’s head to pillow it atop his chest, just under his chin. “Sleep well,” Brad urged.

Chloe’s head nodded from its place on Crawford’s chest and his free arm sought out Brad’s far hip, giving it a tiny squeeze.

Before long, Brad could hear and feel Chloe’s breathing change and realized he’d drifted off already. Whatever it was, clearly it wasn’t bothering him enough to keep him awake. ‘Just as well,’ Crawford thought, ‘tonight could be a dream or a nightmare and I’d like to spare him what I can.’

Guilt over keeping Chloe by his side just to try to help provoke another, very specific, vision prodded at him, but Crawford reached deep into his training and accessed a protocol he’d rarely engaged, a Rozenkreuz designed meditative state that engaged the portion of the brain where the visions originated. Taking a deep breath, he followed the steps until he could feel the trickle of power and then allowed himself to follow his lover into sleep.

**

Brad felt the biting cold and dampness in the air even through his heavy, woolen coat. A scarf of matching black wound around his neck and the lower part of his face, and supple leather gloves covered his hands. Despite the heavy fog, Brad could sense the enormity of the graveyard he stood in. The stones nearest him seemed centuries old and yet bore names on them that stretched a mere twenty years into his past. He was standing amidst his own dead and the cemetery in his nightmares always grew to accommodate more. 

The ground at his feet shifted and hands appeared, swimming to the surface through the sea of turf. Crawford took a step back and reached reflexively for a gun that wasn’t there. 

“Hello, Lieutenant,” the mangled corpse in front of him greeted. “Long time, no see.”

Crawford swallowed around a dry throat and took another step back. “Sergeant,” he finally responded. “What are you doing here? You don’t belong here.”

“Don’t I know it,” the zombie-like creature answered, “but you brought me here all the same.”

Crawford shook his head violently. “I didn’t kill you. I couldn’t have brought you here.”

“But you did summon me, Brad, and only you can let me go. The demons guard the gates and no one leaves past them.”

Crawford looked behind the soldier and saw the western gate of his cemetery and the demon perched there atop the wall. Leathery wings extended in readiness, the fanged beast waited in a crouch, fisting and flexing his talon-tipped claws and growling softly. The face sneered at him, curling black lips back to expose fangs that dripped blood and acid. Smoke rose from the ground where the toxic saliva landed.

“I didn’t kill you,” Crawford repeated. “Why are you here?”

“I’m one of your dead, Brad. You put me here when you claimed my death as part of your due. You buried the others here and they’re asleep and quiet, but me, you need to let me go or they,” the Sergeant’s mangled arm gestured with half a hand at some point over Crawford’s shoulder, “never will.”

“They?” Crawford asked and looked behind himself. As before, the fog cleared and he saw a second demon. Head swiveling, Crawford caught sight of two more demons to the left and right.

“Please, for both our sakes,” Brad’s former comrade and one-time lover begged. “Let me go.”

“How?” Crawford asked desperately.

The Sergeant pointed across the grey landscape toward another slab of stone much like his own. “Feldman,” he answered. “He was my killer. His grave is my way out.”

Crawford ran full tilt in the direction of his only act of outright, hate-filled murder. He’d killed hundreds over the years, but always before and since, it had either been in self-defense or under orders or commission. This kill had been on his own and for only himself. Feldman’s death had been his revenge. 

The Rozenkreuz assassin had been placed inside the American Army to make Staff Sgt. Brian Puller’s death look like an unfortunate case of friendly fire. The Army, suspicious about Brad and Brian’s relationship and not wanting any scandal to be revealed to the public, had quietly hushed up the entire incident and had swept it under the carpet. Crawford, enraged by his superiors’ indifference, left the military and was quickly picked up by Esset. It wasn’t until years later that Crawford had learned the truth of how he was so skillfully manipulated and when he did, he hunted Feldman down and snapped the man’s neck.

Feldman’s form rose out of his grave to meet Crawford and, unlike the decomposing state of his late lover, Feldman looked exactly as he had on the last day of his life.

Crawford charged him and it felt as though they relived their final battle, repeating each movement, each blow, exactly as they had before until Brad finally felt the joy of once again snapping the assassin’s neck. As Feldman’s body dropped to the ground, his bones and headstone re-arranged themselves and reformed becoming a small well. The gleaming white of the bone colored stones looked blazingly out of place in the gloomy grey surroundings and Brad blinked to adjust his eyes.

“Go,” Crawford ordered Brian as he tried to adapt his vision. From the side, Brad saw the demon nearest them jump down from his perch and start moving their way. A quick check around showed that all four demons were on the move. They had little time left. “Go quickly,” Crawford urged.

When he sensed no movement and heard no answer, Crawford sought out Brian and found his remains on the ground, silent now, but still here where they didn’t belong. Gritting his teeth, Crawford forced himself to gather the decaying remnants of his one and only love and reverently cast them into the small well. Instead of a splash, a flash of light lit the bottom of the well and Crawford saw Brian’s face, whole now and ghostly white, wavering along invisible currents where the ripples of water should have been.

“Thanks, lover,” Brian’s voice spoke inside Crawford’s head. “Now you just have to save yourself.” With a wink, the image of Brian’s face melted into the mists and disappeared.

As Crawford straightened up from where he was bent over the well walls, fire and pain lanced through his right leg and he flew backwards. Rolling to his feet once he’d hit the ground, Crawford saw four demons now ringed around him and they looked very, very angry.

Four against one and he was already injured. Crawford’s mind started plotting strategies for escape since fighting clearly wasn’t an option. Diving to his left, Brad feigned a move for the closest gate then immediately changed directions once the demons had committed themselves. For all their size and power, they couldn’t turn on a dime and Brad would have been willing to bet on his speed over theirs if he hadn’t been injured. The demons learned quickly though and the sound of leathery wings drew closer. 

A flash of red caught Crawford’s eye and, as he ran, an arbor came into view where the center of his cemetery should have been. Crawford made an immediate course correction, too quickly as it happened, and groaned as the torque to his leg reminded him, painfully, of his talon-torn tendons and muscles. 

The frail wooden arbor coming into sight would offer no real defense against razor sharp claws and poison dripping fangs, but the structure was the only break in the unrelieved landscape of death and Brad clutched at it in desperation. On the far side of the arch, a lone rose bloomed on the willowy, climbing bush and peeked around the corner, turning its face towards him. 

With a deafening roar ringing in his ears and amidst a hail of splinters, Crawford suddenly found himself face down on the ground, pinned beneath a howling demon whose claws tore through his coat and dug deep into the skin and muscles of his back. Liquid fire dropped onto the nape of his neck and trickled to either side, but through the pain Brad tried to focus on that lone rose. 

Stretching his arm as far as possible under the demon’s crushing weight, he was just able to reach the bloom and closed his fist around it. Clutching it tightly, he grabbed and pulled at the thorny stem until his bleeding hand managed to bring the sweet smelling flower close to his nose. As he took in the scent and the petals caressed his face, one final blow from the demon’s powerful fist to the back of his head made Brad scream in agony and his world went dark.

**

Gasping for breath, Crawford suddenly realized that he was not pinned face down in the dirt of a nightmare cemetery, but was, in fact, awake and curled into a ball on his side in bed. The screams were in his head and the pain there was all too real, but the rest of the damage, the dream injuries to his back and legs, was not. Once again, however, the scent of roses reached his nose and Brad pulled his hand toward to his nose as he had in the dream. Instead of a flower surrounded by thorns, he found Chloe’s hand in his own, held so tightly that he’d forced Chloe’s nails to dig painfully into his hand. The sensation he’d mistaken for the rose brushing his cheek and forehead was Chloe’s other hand stroking gentle fingertips across his face and trying to soothe him.

“Shh,” Chloe’s voice cooed softly. “It’s alright.” More softly Brad heard Chloe’s voice mumble, “at least I hope to God it’s alright. Please wake up and tell me what to do.”

Crawford slowly made himself let go of the death grip he had on Chloe’s hand and tried to move away, but his head exploded in pain and he groaned aloud. “Pills,” Brad managed to gasp.

Chloe moved off of the bed, taking great care to jostle the mattress as little as possible. “Where,” Chloe asked in a whisper, not knowing where to even begin looking.

Brad struggled to think while his brains felt as though they were battering against his eardrums, searching for a way to escape the confines of his skull. Gradually, he was able to recall sitting the small metal fob next to his wallet, phone, and keys on the valet. “Valet,” he groaned out in answer, “small metal tube.”

Chloe made his way to the closet, but what little light penetrated the curtains and allowed him to see in the room did not extend to the wardrobe and he cursed at the complete darkness within it. Fearing to search by feel lest he knock the small container onto the floor and lose it altogether, Chloe grabbed Brad’s terry cloth robe from the door and laid it gently over Brad’s head. “I’m sorry. I’m going to have to turn a light on. Just bear with me for a second.” 

Once Brad’s face was covered by the thick fabric, Chloe switched on the bedside table lamp and easily found the tiny pill dispenser. Removing the lid, Chloe noticed several pills of various shapes and colors inside the tube. “Which one?” he whispered desperately.

“All of them,” Brad managed to answer through gritted teeth.

Pouring a quick glass of water from the carafe at hand, Chloe made certain he held the container carefully before switching the light off and removing the robe. “Here,” Chloe said and Brad pulled Chloe’s hand to his lips. Once he’d poured the contents directly into Crawford’s waiting mouth, Chloe retrieved the water and, carefully lifting Brad’s head up slightly, helped him drink enough liquid to ease the pills’ path.

“Thank you,” Crawford whispered hoarsely once he’d swallowed and Chloe cautiously lowered Brad’s head back down and then set the glass aside.

Night vision not yet restored, Chloe was forced to feel his way back around the bed, tossing Brad’s robe atop his own on the bed chest along the way. With great care, he sat back down on his own side of the bed. “Will you be alright?” Chloe asked softly. “Is there anything else I can do? Someone I should call?”

Crawford groaned. The last thing he needed right now was an irritating, red-haired German saying ‘I told you so’ which was exactly what he was likely to get if this little story ever came out. Instead, Crawford reached out and grabbed Chloe’s arm, pulling him closer and back down onto the bed.

The comforting hand returned to its previous task, soothing Crawford’s pain-tense forehead, and he gave a small sigh.

“Does this help?” Chloe inquired.

Crawford tried to focus and was surprised to note that it did seem to help. The soft touch, the distracting movement, even the vague scent of roses on his lover’s skin, one or all of those things did seem to turn the screaming inside his head down a notch or two. “Yes,” he finally answered quietly and so Chloe continued his light stroking and petting.

Fortunately for Crawford, the cocktail of medication he carried for emergencies worked quickly and in fifteen minutes he was at least capable of uncurling from the ball he’d rolled himself into. “I’m sorry for putting you through this,” Brad’s scratchy voice apologized. “I should have known it was a bad idea.”

Chloe’s hand froze on Brad’s forehead and Crawford moaned at the loss of the soothing sensation. “Was this my fault?” Chloe asked. It was only a whisper, but it conveyed the horror he felt.

“No,” Brad answered quickly as he flailed slightly trying to find Chloe’s hand. “Not your fault,” he replied, trying to emphasize the words without the volume he would normally have employed. “Not your fault. Mine.”

Chloe’s hand took up its task once again. “The attack I saw you have earlier today was nothing like this one,” he observed.

“Unprovoked,” Brad answered absently as he enjoyed the blessed return of Chloe’s cool hand.

“Meaning that this one was?” Chloe’s voice asked suspiciously and his hand stilled again. “What did you do?” His tone was low in volume, but firm and it was clear he wasn’t going to let this go.

‘Damn, damn, damn,’ Crawford thought, realizing the slip he’d made. The pain and the pills were making him careless. He really couldn’t have this conversation right now, not when his eyeballs felt like spheres of barbed wire and he wanted to tear off his own scalp with his bare hands. 

Crawford realized that he must have made some sort of distressed noise, because Chloe’s voice returned. “Shh, shh, alright. I’m sorry. It can wait. Just promise me that we are going to talk about this in the morning.”

Brad reached for Chloe’s hand and gave it an appreciative stroke. “Yes, we’ll talk. Thank you,” he promised, strain and relief both obvious in his tone.

Chloe shifted around on the bed, rearranging the blankets and pillows that had been disturbed by Crawford’s thrashing and folded Brad carefully in his arms. “Sleep,” he urged as he resumed his light massage over Brad’s throbbing head.

Within seconds, Crawford succumbed to the combined effects of Chloe’s soothing presence and the powerful medication, but for Chloe, sleep proved to be much more elusive. As he stroked his fingers through the soft strands of Brad’s hair, Chloe mused idly that it was nice to get the chance to hold the man this way, unfortunate though the circumstances were. As controlled and controlling a man as his Mr. Crawford seemed to be, Chloe guessed that the opportunity to hold the intriguing man was not one granted to many. 

He continued to stroke Brad’s hair long after the time when his lover’s slow and easy breaths indicated that he had slipped off into merciful, healing sleep. The truth was that the adrenaline that had shot through his system when he awoke to witness the end of Crawford’s nightmare still had him on edge and the movement was proving to be as hypnotically soothing to him as it had been for Brad, so he enjoyed the opportunity to indulge and settled back to wait for sleep to come to him.

Just as the adrenaline wore off though and he felt sleep tugging at suddenly heavy eyelids, Chloe spared a thought for just what kind of conversation the morning might bring.

 

Brad woke quickly, as was his habit, despite the medication still lingering in his system. Taking a brief physical inventory, he was relieved to notice no overt lingering effects from his incredibly poor judgment the night before. What had seemed like a justifiable risk last evening now seemed like Russian Roulette in the cold light of day. He’d risked a seizure, stroke, or death doing what he’d done just because he was too impatient to let the answers come to him in their own good time. 

‘Idiot,’ he chastised himself and considered the pain that still lingered as an appropriate penance for his foolhardiness. Perhaps that way he might remember it and choose more wisely if his logic ever abandoned him that badly again. His personal inventory had also revealed something else however; a more immediate concern that was currently pressing hard between his legs and Chloe’s hip and that was rapidly becoming firmer and more insistent the longer he remained awake.

Fearing a resurgence of the agony he’d inflicted on himself the night before, Brad moved slowly at first, experimenting to see if indulging in Chloe’s gorgeous body one last time would be possible. Shifting one leg up and over, he slid it into the gap between Chloe’s legs to straddle the one nearest him. Leaning on one arm, he levered himself over Chloe’s chest and laid a soft line of kisses around Chloe’s jaw and neck to the collarbone. Brad’s free hand wandered across Chloe’s chest, surveying and memorizing the musculature before sliding down across a sharp hipbone to reach the petal soft skin of a penis that was rapidly filling with blood and becoming firmer under his gentle touch.

“Mmm,” Chloe murmured, still half asleep, as his hips surged forward, propelled by instinct even in his semi-conscious state of half wakefulness.

Crawford chuckled softly to himself at his lover’s gratifying sensitivity as he nibbled gently on Chloe’s ear and walked his fingers past heavy testicles to seek out the entrance below and stroke over it gently.

“Mmm,” Chloe hummed again, louder this time and longer, as he started to waken under Brad’s persistent ministrations.

Crawford rolled back to his side of the bed and retrieved the last condom and packet of lube from the bedside drawer, gratified as he did so that the movement provoked no increase in the residual pain in his head. As Brad moved back to his previous location, Chloe rolled his head to the side on the pillow and Brad took advantage of the lips now accessible to him. A few gentle bites to Chloe’s full lower lip and a swipe of his tongue prompted the drowsy blond to yield to Brad’s kiss. Pressing their lips together and sweeping inside with his tongue, Brad lifted himself up and over his lover’s warm and pliable body and forced his legs between Chloe’s. With their hips and chests now matched, Brad allowed gravity to use his weight to give them the pressure they were both craving as he continued to feast on Chloe’s lips.

Awake enough now to respond, Chloe’s arms lifted off of the bed and circled Brad’s neck and shoulders. When he thrust up against Brad from below, Crawford moaned low and deep and leaned to one side to free a hand to stroke up and over Chloe’s side and hip.

Fully awake and engaged, Chloe returned Brad’s kiss with enthusiasm and spread his legs even wider to make more room. When Brad shifted his weight and nudged Chloe’s entrance with the tip of his erection, Chloe nodded vigorously.

Brad reached up and pulled Chloe’s hand away from his neck to slip the condom and lube into his palm. Setting back on his knees, Crawford watched through half open eyes as Chloe tore open the package and rolled the latex over Brad’s waiting cock. The sight of a sleep rumpled and passion flushed Chloe handling him made his erection twitch in Chloe’s grip. 

Crawford was hungry with want and desperate to get inside Chloe’s body. As Chloe applied the lube to the outside of the condom and spread it by stroking firmly, Brad growled impatiently. Chloe laughed softly and made it up to his lover by propping one leg on Crawford’s shoulder and making a show of spreading the remaining gel over his own entrance, pushing the tip of one finger just inside.

Inspired by Chloe’s erotic teasing, Crawford grabbed Chloe’s hand and manipulated it, forcing Chloe to fuck his hole with his own two fingers. Content once Chloe’s heated eyes met his own and reflected his passion and desire, Brad withdrew Chloe’s hand and released him. Crawford then lowered Chloe’s leg, eased himself into position, and pushed into Chloe’s body with a series of short, insistent strokes, stopping only once he was fully inside.

Hand now free from Brad’s clutches, Chloe grabbed Crawford’s ass and squeezed even as he angled his own hips to drive Brad deeper. Both men groaned in visceral pleasure and Brad collapsed down onto Chloe’s chest. When he went to lift himself however, Chloe’s hands slid up over Brad’s back and held him close.

Range of motion constrained, Brad leaned on the bed, threaded his hands under Chloe’s armpits and behind his back to grip the top of his shoulders, and the two men rocked slowly and steadily against one another. Unlike their earlier couplings full of fire and sweat, this round of sex was mindful, rhythmic, and sensuous. Without a word spoken, seconds became minutes and both men were content to let the passion between them build more slowly this time.

Chloe encouraged Brad with eager hands that slid over and lightly scratched at Brad’s back and sides and Brad kissed and nipped at whatever skin he could reach on Chloe’s neck, shoulders, and chest. Unable to resist the temptation, Brad hoped that Chloe hadn’t planned to wear any open necked shirts anytime soon because he was leaving a trail of marks that would be visible bruises for days.

Beneath him, Chloe wriggled. The pressure of Brad’s abs on Chloe’s cock kept him stimulated and on edge as they rocked and bucked against each other. Brad thrust into Chloe without ever moving away, using Chloe’s shoulders for leverage and his fingers dug, almost painfully, into Chloe’s creamy white shoulders leaving still more marks as he pulled their bodies tightly together.

The pain at his shoulders and collarbone fed into Chloe’s growing passions and his hands flew wildly, gripping and pulling at Brad’s shoulders in desperation. A soft whine reached Brad’s ear and he sped up his movements without lifting his weight, curious to see if he could bring off his beautiful lover from the penetration and pressure alone.

Chloe’s soft whines morphed into breathy gasps and Brad drove himself, snapping his hips with more force now, stabbing and impaling Chloe’s body relentlessly until the bed shook underneath them.

“Ahh,” Chloe’s voice broke in a soft cry as he came, shuddering forcefully beneath Crawford.

Brad’s smug internal crowing lasted for only a handful of seconds as his own orgasm, propelled forward by his attempts on Chloe’s behalf, would be denied no longer. Biting Chloe’s shoulder and giving a deep growl, Brad pressed himself deep inside Chloe’s body three final times and came more forcefully than he had expected given the ambitious history of their time together. Despite those two previous orgasms, Brad experienced this one like a jolt of electricity coursing through his body and pouring out of his cock until he felt as though his very soul had been drained away. 

Rather than leaving him detached from his surroundings, this coupling and subsequent orgasm made Crawford feel curiously engaged and he wondered idly as he caught his breath if the intense experience had been affected by his vision, his medication, or both. Feeling too inspired to care, Brad leaned up and searched for Chloe’s panting lips with his own and they shared a final, passionate kiss as the last of the tremors tingling through each of them passed away.

“Mmm,” Chloe hummed in satiated bliss beneath him as he enthusiastically returned the kiss.

Brad sunk his fingers into Chloe’s soft locks and rubbed the silken strands as he devoured his lover’s mouth. The feeling of Chloe’s gentle hands against his face reminded Brad of how comforting they’d been while the vision induced agony had raced through his skull only hours before. As marvelous as it felt, both then and now, it was a subtle reminder to him that they both needed to return to their own worlds today.

With regret, Crawford pulled back and, with a final quick peck, eased out of Chloe’s body and rolled away. Reaching over to the nightstand, he grabbed a handful of tissues and carefully removed the condom. When he went to stand and toss the wadded up mess into the waste can however, a sudden wave of dizziness put him quickly back down on the edge of the bed. Brad closed his eyes until he realized that doing so only accentuated the feeling and opened them again to stare at his own naked legs. The mess still in his hand reminded him of Chloe and he grabbed the box of tissues and passed them over.

“Are you okay?” Chloe asked softly as he took three tissues and cleaned himself off.

Despite having a denial ready and waiting in his head, Brad heard his own voice admitting, “Just a little dizzy, postural hypotension from the medication.” Crawford looked back at Chloe and chuckled softly at the scowling concern he saw written across his lover’s adorably rumpled face. “It’s fine. It’s normal.”

Chloe nodded though he was thoroughly unconvinced. He didn’t want to argue the point. He wanted to lie back down and enjoy the afterglow, but he also wanted answers. Taking the ball of tissues out of Brad’s hand, Chloe disposed of both messes in the waste can by the desk and returned to the bed. “I think it’s time you explain to me exactly how any of this constitutes ‘normal’,” Chloe remarked as he stretched back out on the bed and patted Brad’s pillow.

With a sigh, Brad complied and eased back down onto the bed. In the end, it wasn’t just his promise that made him speak, he’d spent half a lifetime lying and it had served him well. Brad resolved to tell Chloe at least part of the truth because a siren had taken up residence in the back of his mind, whispering seductive words of hope and fueling a longing for more from life than he’d settled for up to this point. He was tired of being alone and tired of insisting to himself that he was content with the way things stood. He was going out on a ledge though, no visions and no safety net. 

“What you saw wasn’t exactly a seizure, though if I were hooked to an EEG when I had one, they do appear remarkably similar.”

“So you tell people that it’s a seizure why, because it’s easier or because you don’t want to have to explain anything?” Chloe asked.

“The latter,” Brad admitted. “Only a handful of people in the world know and they’re all people that I trust; well, more or less anyway.”

Chloe chuckled softly at his very reserved lover. “You are, possibly, the most self-contained person I’ve ever met and trust me when I tell you that that is saying something. I have a friend who could give you a run for your money in the secrets department, but even he will share his heart with those he cares for from time to time.”

Brad looked away and stared at the ornate medallion on the ceiling that framed the place where the chandelier hung. He couldn’t deny being cold and remote. It was how Rozenkreuz had reshaped and remade him after they’d scrambled his head, and he couldn’t regret it altogether because that cold and calculating nature had allowed him to save the only people in the world that he still cared about. Still, he hadn’t always been this way, even if it was becoming harder and harder to remember with each passing year alone.

“So will you tell me what is it that’s happening to you and why you hide it?” Chloe persisted.

If he was wrong, if this turned out to be a mistake, if he wasn’t worthy of the trust Brad was about to grant him, Crawford would have to put a bullet in Chloe’s brain. Brad turned his head briefly to look into Chloe’s eyes. Mind made up, he turned back to face the chandelier and rolled the dice. “I see things: people, events, timelines…I see the future.”

Chloe stared at the side of Brad’s face and reached over with a hand to forcibly make Crawford meet his eyes when he didn’t eventually do so voluntarily. Seeing no sign of deception in Brad’s unwavering stare, Chloe slumped slightly. “You’re serious.”

Brad nodded.

Chloe let go of Brad’s face and fell back onto his own pillow. Suddenly the medallion that Brad had been studying seemed fascinating to him as well.

“You can see why I don’t tell anyone,” Brad commented wryly. 

Chloe stared, unblinking, at the hanging crystals of the lamp, barely visible in the muted light of day that penetrated around the edges of the heavy drapes.

“Chloe?”

“You’re never surprised,” Chloe observed in a soft monotone.

“Not often, no,” Crawford responded, “but it does happen from time to time and…we’ve had this conversation before.”

“You seemed to change your mind about me while you were gone.”

“Gone? At the tailor’s, you mean?” Brad asked.

“Yes.”

“I’d had time to calm down and sort through what I’d seen when I ran into you on the sidewalk. Pre-cognition is an unpredictable gift. Sometimes it comes as very simple glimpses or insights into something quite immediate. Those types can happen often and throughout the course of a day. They take little in the way of effort and energy and are unnoticeable to anyone else most of the time. Then there are the full blown visions. In varying levels of complexity, they show the future in dozens of possible permutations and the linchpin factors to steer the course of events. These sometimes occur during the day and can be disabling when they do. More often though, they come at night when the mind is undistracted and open and then the information is lengthy and detailed. It can take time to sort through all the possibilities and decide how to proceed.”

Chloe shivered and Brad reached down to pull the covers back up over their naked bodies, cool now after their passion was long spent.

“You make it sound very…calculated.” Chloe was trying to sound calm, but Brad could feel the hurt oozing off of him. “All I ever saw was the two of us having sex. What more did you see?”

Crawford shook his head. There were too many things he was eventually going to need to address in that question, but Crawford decided that he’d start with the easier one. “It’s more about what I didn’t see than what I did.” Brad paused and put his arms around Chloe, pulling him close and getting his focus back. “Before yesterday I only knew of you and you didn’t know me at all. I’m sorry if it sounds cold, but I needed to know that you weren’t a threat to me before I let things go any further. Isn’t that why you frequent your club? Anonymous one night only meetings are safest?”

Chloe sighed and nodded. “Yes, you’re right. I’m sorry. I’m being unfair.”

“Not at all,” Brad countered. “This is a unique situation for the both of us. People in our circumstances rarely meet on this playing field.”

Brad’s joke broke some of the tension and Chloe laughed softly. “Very colorfully and diplomatically put, Mr. Crawford, but so far you’ve only explained yesterday. I’d like to know what happened here last night and why it was so different. You said you’d provoked it somehow. What happened?”

Brad shifted on the bed, suddenly uncomfortable. “I cannot prevent the visions from coming, you understand. They come when they come, but I have learned that I can put myself into a state that can incite them if I feel that the need to know something is urgent enough.”

Chloe sat up to lean on his elbow and looked down at Brad. “Urgent? What was so…me?!”

Brad sat up quickly, too quickly as it happened, and ended up with one hand on his head and the other braced on the bed behind him. “Please,” Brad moved his hand quickly away from his head and reached for Chloe.

Chloe’s face was set in stone, but he remained in place and appeared to be listening. “I was merely describing my ability to provoke a pre-cognitive dream and when I’ve used it in the past. This time…it was simply impatience on my part and foolish impatience at that given that I’d already had two fairly complex visions in the last twenty-four hours.”

“Two visions?” Chloe asked, confused, and with a hint of fear in his eyes. “Did you know we would meet yesterday?”

Brad looked straight into Chloe’s eyes, hiding nothing. “No,” he answered firmly and honestly. “I had no visions about you until after I stepped out of the cab and bumped into you on the sidewalk.”

Chloe nodded and returned to his examination of the ceiling. He still seemed tense, but much less wary than he had seconds earlier. “I’m sorry to have to ask. You seemed genuinely surprised and more than a little annoyed, at least until after your fitting, but I had to be sure.”

Crawford winced. Chloe had thought for a moment that he was being played for a fool. He should have anticipated that reaction, especially since Chloe had been under the impression that he’d been led to Crawford by a vision of his own.

“So then what was this other vision?” Chloe’s voice broke into Crawford’s thoughts to ask.

Crawford needed to take care of this idea Chloe had that he was experiencing visions. It was apparently time to explain Schuldig. “I had a vision the night before we met; nothing about you, just something that involved a teammate and keeping him out of trouble, or so I thought.”

Chloe’s eyes lit up. “Well that sounds intriguing,” he commented.

“You may not be so amused when I explain. All I recalled when I awoke was an address, an address that I gave to this individual the next morning, directing him to go there. As it happens though, the address that I wrote down is the same as that of your club.”

Chloe’s eyebrows knitted in confusion. “He was there when I was? Is that how you recognized me? Is that what provoked my vision?”

Brad sighed. Vague wasn’t working. He was going to have to be blunt and while Crawford wasn’t thrilled with being put in the position of revealing too much about Grau, he was more than happy to throw Schu, being the guilty party at the heart of it all, under the bus. “Chloe, you didn’t have a vision, you had a…Schuldig.”

“Excuse me, a what?”

“You and Schuldig have met before and he recognized you when he saw you yesterday. What you thought was a vision was actually Schuldig messing with your head.”

Chloe sputtered indignantly. “What the- Why would he- And how?!”

Brad put both hands in the air to slow Chloe down. “You met him before when you hit on his boyfriend in some bar. I’m a bit vague on the details since I heard three different versions of the story that night, but I think that has a lot to do with it. As to how…well, he has his own gift. He’s a telepath and a damned good one.”

“A damned creative one too from the images he put into my head,” Chloe quipped back as the image of a pissed off man with bright orange hair suddenly flashed in his memories. “But why would he throw me at you if he hates me so much?”

Brad stretched back out on the bed and smiled. “Oh, I don’t think Schuldig hates you exactly. He is annoyed by you and jealous that you managed something of a conversation with his boyfriend. Since I annoy him on a regular basis and he likes to blame it on my lack of a sexual partner, I think the bastard simply saw it as a way to kill two birds with one stone; so to speak, that is.”

Chloe blinked twice. “But that’s…”

“Twisted, sick, perverted, evil; he’s certainly all those things and more, but he’s also very loyal and insanely good at what he does. I’d never tell him that, of course. He already has an ego the size of the London Eye.” Brad supplied.

“That was the call you made at dinner? You’d put it all together from what I’d told you and you called him.”

“I called to tell him that I would shoot his balls off if he ever pulled a stunt like that again.”

Chloe laughed. “My hero,” he teased in a high pitched simulation of a ‘damsel in distress’ voice.

Brad tugged Chloe onto his side, dislodging the blankets, and gave his bare ass a loud swat which just made Chloe laugh harder. “I take it then that you are not angry that I didn’t share this with you earlier. When we met, I genuinely thought that it was a coincidence and by the time I realized that it wasn’t,” Brad paused to gather Chloe in his arms and pull him close for a deep kiss. “By the time I realized that it wasn’t, I was too bewitched by you to want to end it too quickly.”

Chloe nodded as he caught his breath after their kiss. He understood not wanting to rock the boat. He’d enjoyed their night of passion and conversation and laughter and intimacy more than any other he’d had in recent memory and there were things he’d shied away from and let drop as well just to keep the peace.

“Am I forgiven?” Brad asked teasingly.

“Almost,” Chloe answered coyly as he escaped Brad’s arms and rolled off of the bed. Grabbing his robe, he threw it over his shoulders and sauntered into the bathroom.

When the door closed between them, Brad relaxed back onto the bed. Vague stirrings of hunger reminded him that he had nothing except medication on his stomach and while it was difficult to eat when you were in so much pain that you needed to resort to taking the pills, it also wasn’t the best thing in the world to go without. 

Getting up more cautiously than the first time, Brad retrieved his robe, put it on and made his way to the desk. Putting on his glasses and switching on the small table lamp, he winced for a moment before flipping open the room service menu and calling the dining room to place an order. Crawford wasn’t sure what Chloe would like, so he opted to choose a bit of everything and coffee and tea as well. 

His doctor wouldn’t be pleased about the caffeine, but it was a concession to necessity and he wouldn’t tell the man anyway. After all, he needed to get home and make an appointment first and that wasn’t likely to happen without at least two cups of coffee. He’d buffer it with a bit of toast and possibly some eggs depending on how his stomach felt after his shower. 

Thinking of the bathroom lights, Brad started flipping on the other lamps in the main room, one by one, trying to adjust his eyes to a level closer to that he would face in the bathroom. The lights started an annoying throb behind his eyes that warned him of future torment, but there was no point in delaying when he needed the shower. With his eyes half closed, Brad cautiously eased open the bathroom door and removed his robe and glasses.

“I’m just about done,” Chloe called out as he rinsed his hair one last time.

Brad retrieved a towel from the heated bar and held it open for Chloe who left the shower and stepped into it gratefully leaving the water on behind him. While Chloe dried off, Brad moved into the shower and stood under the soothing spray. The hot water felt marvelous as it streamed over tired, aching muscles cramped by the contortions brought on by his vision. As marvelous as it felt everywhere else, it was pure heaven for his head. Rock hard tendons and muscles in his neck and tightly constricted blood vessels in his head all relaxed under the hot water and Brad indulged in a rare moment of inefficiency, leaning against the wall and moaning softly in bliss.

“You keep making noises like that while you’re dripping wet and we’ll both end up regretting that we’re out of condoms.” Chloe’s voice echoed slightly in the shower enclosure and Brad opened his eyes to see Chloe’s head just inside the stall, waggling his eyebrows suggestively. “Though I’d be more than happy to just suck you off if it meant getting to hear more of those noises you were making.”

Brad spared half a thought to be grateful for the hot water even as he cursed his lack of control. He knew he was likely blushing, but hopefully the scalding water had pinked his skin enough to hide it well. 

Glasses off and water in his eyes, Crawford couldn’t quite make out the moment Chloe’s face registered his sudden awareness, but his question was a dead giveaway. “You’re still in pain, aren’t you?”

Closing his eyes, Brad let his head drop forward to allow the water to run over his neck once again. “Yes,” Crawford admitted, “though it’s the light that bothers me the most.”

“Keep your eyes closed,” Chloe instructed. “I’ll be right back.”

The pain in his head urged Brad to listen to Chloe, but the survival instincts that had kept him alive for so long warred with him as well, reminding him that he was naked and defenseless in a shower that wasn’t his own. He wanted to trust Chloe, but it was difficult for him to let go quite that far this soon. He was tired and in pain and vulnerable and it all worked together to leave him feeling hyper-vigilant and on edge.

Fortunately, Chloe returned quickly and he brought one of the bedside lamps with him. After setting it down on the vanity, he plugged it in, switched it on, and turned off the glaring white bulbs over the mirror, reducing the bathroom light to a soft glow.

Instantly, the pain behind Brad’s eyes began to abate and he sent a grateful look in Chloe’s direction.

“Better,” Chloe asked as he poked his head back into the shower enclosure.

“Much,” Crawford replied with a slight smile as he reached for the remnants of the small bottle of shampoo provided by the hotel.

“Good,” Chloe answered as he continued to stare. As Brad washed his hair, little trails of lather slid down his chest and tangled in the hair at his groin and reminded Chloe of his previous offer. “So if you’re feeling better, can I interest you in that blow job now?”

Brad finished rinsing his hair and brushing the suds away from his face and stared at Chloe with one eyebrow raised for three seconds before picking up the small bar of soap. “As much as I hate to turn down such a generous offer, don’t you think it might be better if room service arrived to find at least one of us decent?”

Chloe laughed. “Room service, huh? Well, I can get dressed if you want, Brad, but it won’t ever make me decent,” he teased in reply and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Crawford smiled briefly at Chloe’s joke, but sobered quickly when he realized such moments were coming to an end. His uncharacteristic vacation from reality would soon be over and it was time to button himself back inside his well-fitting business suit and go back to the world he knew.

Crawford finished his shower and as he toweled himself off and brushed his teeth, he heard Chloe letting the staff into their room to deliver their breakfast. Retrieving his robe and belting it tightly around himself like armor, Crawford exited the bath, signed the room service bill, retrieved his new suit from the wardrobe and returned to the solitude of the bathroom to dress. 

As he slipped into each garment and tied the tie around his neck, Crawford felt like a medieval knight girding himself with plates of steel over chain mail in preparation for battle. So much of his life had felt like a war and while the brief R&R had been enjoyable, his leave was over and it was time to crawl back into the trenches.

**

Chloe finished dressing just before room service arrived. Standing back, he watched as the staff pushed in a large cart and erected a folding table which they proceeded to set with a crisp white tablecloth and two place settings. Dish after dish made their way onto the table along with a large pot each of coffee and tea, and Chloe marveled at the assortment of food as the white-gloved staff pushed two chairs into place to complete their mission. 

Crawford emerged from the bathroom just as the staff were finishing up and Chloe sighed in disappointment at the sight. Crawford’s body language projected icy professionalism and remote indifference. Even tied into a hotel robe, his demeanor screamed formality as he scribbled his signature onto the bill, retrieved his suit and returned to the bathroom, all without ever making eye contact or uttering a word to anyone.

Once the staff had gone, Chloe closed the door to their room, leaned against it, and faced the beautiful table laden with food that no longer seemed quite so appetizing. His fantasy vacation was over, it seemed, and he wondered if, like the night before, he should simply try to gather his things and slip away quietly. Brad had talked him into staying on that occasion and Chloe had to admit that he was glad he had. 

Deciding to remain and see how the morning played out, Chloe wandered over to one of chairs, sat down, and poured himself a cup of tea. Clearly Brad expected him to stay for breakfast at the very least, he finally decided. No one but a starving teenager would order this amount of food for one person. As he sipped his tea and surveyed the myriad choices, Chloe smiled. ‘Besides,’ he thought, ‘I still have one or two questions for Mr. Brad Crawford that he hasn’t answered yet.’

Crawford emerged from the bathroom fully dressed and ready to face the day. At least, he was until he caught sight of Chloe’s Cheshire Cat-like grin which stopped him in his tracks.

“Breakfast,” Chloe asked, gesturing to the second chair with a gracious wave of his hand.

Brad nodded and moved hesitantly to take his place. Somewhere between the bathroom mirror and the door, Crawford’s suit of armor had developed a chink. His new suit had many wonderful qualities, but being Chloe-proof was clearly not one of them.

“I’ll get you some coffee, shall I?” Chloe asked. Without waiting for an answer, he poured a cup, fixed it the way he recalled Brad taking it at dinner the night before, and set it in front of Crawford. “There you go,” Chloe said cheerfully. “And while we eat, you can explain more to me about what was so very urgent that you risked having a stroke trying to provoke a third vision last night.”

Brad stared at the blond calmly sipping his tea and smiling broadly and shivered. He was in so much trouble. “Excuse me,” Brad finally managed to say as he stalled for time and tried to catch up. “I thought I’d answered all your questions and been forgiven.”

“Really?” Chloe retorted. “I seem to recall using the word ‘almost’ when you asked if you were forgiven. You did a lovely job of distracting me this morning, but I still have one or two questions left and I’d like answers to them before I go.”

Brad sighed and reached for a piece of toast. “Such as?”

“Such as,” Chloe continued as he added a fried egg and two slices of tomato to Brad’s plate with an insistent look. “What exactly could have happened to you last night?”

Crawford scowled over the food that had been deposited on his plate, but took a bite in an attempt to curry some much needed good will. “Overuse or misuse of powers like these does come with some risks. It’s just a part of life.”

“Not an answer,” Chloe pointed out.

“Very well,” Crawford huffed. “Yes, a stroke is possible; brain damage, madness and even death can result in more serious cases.”

Chloe froze, his fork halfway to his mouth, and then calmly set it down on his plate. “Alright,” he said softly with a feigned calm he didn’t feel in the least. “And what was it that you were so impatient to know that you were willing to risk doing that to yourself to find out?”

Brad finished his tomato and dabbed at his lips with his napkin before answering. “I think you know.”

Chloe lost his battle to remain calm. “If you’re that sure that I’m going to stab you in the back or betray you somehow, why did you ask me to stay last night? Why tell me any of this? Why not just kill me in my sleep?!”

“Chloe--”

“No, don’t Chloe me. You came marching out of that bathroom this morning, not as my lover Brad, but as Mr. Crawford, deadly serious and cold as ice. In view of that, I think it’s a fair question and I’m entitled to ask. Do we kill each other now that we’re out of condoms?”

Brad rose from his chair, walked over to Chloe, bent to kiss his cheek and then crouched down next to his chair. “Wouldn’t it be much easier to just keep buying condoms?”

“Well, yes,” Chloe answered and chuckled in spite of his previous anger. “I think I may have mentioned at some point last night that more condoms would be my personal preference.”

“Yes, you did, and by last night I felt the same way so I needed to know if it was possible.” Brad paused to take Chloe’s hands in his. “It’s not that I think you would ever deliberately betray me, but you do answer to other people and I have to work very hard trying to keep my team off of people’s radar. We nearly died, all of us, trying to get away from the organization that made us and while I know that things are different for you, you have to understand the danger that we’re all in.”

Chloe nodded and squeezed Brad’s hands. “I hear what you’re saying, but what is it you’re asking? Do you want me to lie to my friends?”

“No,” Crawford answered. “No, don’t try to lie, they’d probably know anyway. Just…just don’t volunteer anything if they give you a choice and warn me if anyone shows too much interest.” Brad paused and released one of Chloe’s hands so that he could reach up and run a thumb over one of the marks he’d left on Chloe’s neck that was visible just above the edge of his collar. “I know I’m asking you to divide your loyalties and if it’s too much to ask say so now. I don’t want to give you up, but I do have to consider the people for whose safety and security I am responsible.”

Chloe leaned forward and pressed his lips gently over Brad’s. “I do understand and it’s not as though you’re asking me to reveal secrets about my organization to you, you simply want me to keep your secrets. It’s alright.”

Rather than looking relieved, Crawford’s expression intensified and he moved his hand to grip Chloe’s chin firmly. “You must promise me that if you ever feel as though you are in danger or that you feel threatened in any way, you will let me know. Even as much as I want you, I refuse to be the cause of your death.”

Chloe wanted to laugh off the comment. Krypton Brand just didn’t work that way, but Crawford was so deadly serious, he didn’t dare. “It won’t come to that, honestly,” he tried to assure Brad, “but if it ever would, I promise to tell you.” Crawford finally relaxed and dropped his hand and Chloe patted his shoulder. “Now come on and sit back down and eat your breakfast before it gets cold.”

Brad returned to his chair and smiled behind his coffee cup. While Ken did an admirable job at keeping them all well fed these days, it still felt nice to have someone worried about him specifically. For years he’d kept himself distant from everyone and it was only recently that he’d started to realize what he’d been missing, let alone care about it. Secretly pleased by Chloe’s attention, Crawford managed to finish both his toast and egg before pushing his plate aside. Since Chloe was still eating, Crawford poured himself a second cup of coffee and settled in his chair, content for once to wait.

“Am I keeping you?” Chloe asked between bites.

Crawford shook his head thinking of the orgy that likely took place on the top floor of their townhouse and hoping it hadn’t spilled over into any of the common areas. “I do need to make a few phone calls when I return, but I’m in no particular rush to get back, believe me.”

“In that case,” Chloe remarked as he finished his meal. “Perhaps we should decide where to go from here, especially since you didn’t get the answers you were hoping for last night.”

Crawford smiled back enigmatically. “I did get answers last night; they simply weren’t the ones I’d gone looking for.” Crawford had risked a great deal hoping to find answers about Chloe and found out about himself instead. It was time to put away the guilt and grief over Brian and start living again and clearly his mind believed that Chloe was just the lifeline he needed even if the rose in his dreams was covered in thorns.

Chloe’s expression turned inquisitive as he sipped the last of his tea. “So then you’ve been able to calculate that this,” he gestured between the two of them, “is worth the cost?”

“No, I’ve simply decided that you are worth the risk,” Brad answered casually as he sipped at his coffee. He wasn’t sure why his statement had left Chloe speechless, it seemed patently obvious to him that if he had been willing to risk damaging his mind to get the answers he sought, then he had clearly already decided on some level that Chloe was worth the pain.

While Chloe sat in stunned silence processing his words, Crawford considered the things he would need to get into place: message drops, burn phones, maybe even a safe house, but that would take time. “Other than your club,” he asked breaking into Chloe’s stupor. “Is there somewhere you go to get away from the others, a place that’s already part of your regular routine?”

Chloe shook his head to clear it after Crawford’s little pronouncement. Considering the question for a moment, he reached to the left to retrieve a notepad and pen from the desk. “This,” he explained as he jotted down a name and address, “is a small bar I visit occasionally. It’s not a club, just a quiet, dark, hole-in-the-wall really. Most of the patrons are old military and civil service pensioners so it’s quiet and no one bothers you.”

Crawford raised one eyebrow in a silent question.

“If I want company of a particular kind, I go to BDSM; if I don’t I go here. Everybody needs a little peace and quiet and John, the barman, stocks some very fine wines and scotches.”

Crawford smiled as it finally dawned on him that this must be the bar where Chloe had first stumbled across Aya, and then Youji and Schuldig. If it was as quiet as Chloe said, the redhead would have found it a perfect refuge as he’d waited for the other two to finish their job. That was the meeting that had set the rest of this chain of events into motion and some part of Crawford appreciated the twisted irony of using it as a meeting place for now.

“Yes,” Brad agreed as he accepted the piece of paper. “This will do just fine for now. Meet me there, if you can, in two weeks. By then I’ll have some things in place.”

“And if I can’t get there that day?” Chloe asked. Mihirogi was pushing hard to recruit new members and new members meant more training and more elaborate missions. It was entirely possible that he’d be gone with little to no notice some nights.

“If you are detained, I’ll check the bar three days later. More than that,” Crawford said, a sudden growl in his tone, “and I’ll come looking for you.”

Chloe smiled and nodded. Missions rarely lasted as long as three days though it was possible. He would just have to hope for the best. 

Standing up, Chloe checked his pockets for his phone, wallet, and keys and, certain he had everything he’d come with, walked to the door of the room. “Well, Mr. Crawford,” Chloe said, extending a hand. “It has certainly been a pleasure. Thank you very much.”

Crawford took the hand and started to shake it until Chloe pulled him forward and kissed his cheek. “I’ll see you in two weeks,” he whispered in Brad’s ear and then silently slipped out the door.

Left alone now, Crawford stared at the suddenly lifeless room and frowned. He hadn’t been looking forward to doing damage control at the townhouse, but without his new lover’s presence, his beautiful hotel room seemed even less inviting than dealing with Schuldig and his foibles.

Packing his old suit quickly, Brad lingered for a moment over the tie that still carried traces of Chloe’s cologne and tucked it into his pocket instead of the garment bag.

In minutes he was checked out, in a taxi, and on his way home to a future that even he, for once, was unsure of.


End file.
